Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Post Q1 2025 Earnings of $1.83 Per Share, Wedbush Forecasts (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Wedbush raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.83 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.69. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.48 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q2 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.80 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.89 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.07 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.06 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.45.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $158.51 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.78. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.