05:47 AM EDT, 06/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates the headline, as well as includes analyst comments in the first, sixth and eighth paragraphs.)

Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) guidance for fiscal 2025 is "largely in line" but might turn out to be "conservative," analysts at Wedbush Securities said late Thursday after the company reported fiscal Q4 results.

The company reported adjusted net earnings from continuing operations Thursday of $2.65 per diluted share, up from $2.58 a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $2.61.

Sales for the quarter ended May 26 were $2.96 billion, up from $2.77 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ expected $2.97 billion.

For fiscal 2025, the company said it expects net earnings from continuing operations in the range of $9.40 to $9.60 per diluted share, on total sales in the range of $11.80 billion to $11.90 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expect net earnings from continuing operations of $9.54 per diluted share on sales of $11.94 billion.

Fiscal 2025 EPS guidance may prove conservative given improved margin visibility, Wedbush Securities analysts Nick Setyan and Michael Symington said in a note.

Additionally, Darden said its board raised the quarterly dividend by 6.9% to $1.40 per share, payable Aug. 1 to shareholders of record as of July 10.

"We expect opportunistic repurchases to remain an incremental EPS driver," the Wedbush analysts said while maintaining their outperform stock rating and a $170 price target.

Price: 154.28, Change: -0.01, Percent Change: -0.01