Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Expected to Earn Q2 2025 Earnings of $1.99 Per Share

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research report issued on Thursday, October 3rd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.99 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.96. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.80 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.40 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.31 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.25 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.99 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.15 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.55 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.85 and its 200 day moving average is $152.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,385 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,166,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 30,616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,025,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,995,000 after buying an additional 163,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,323,138 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.