<p>Growing uncertainties with Darden’s plans to possibly spin-out or sell Red Lobster may have a negative impact on its upcoming earnings report this Friday despite increasing revenue over the past three quarters, analysts predict.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">According to Forbes, the consensus estimate predicts earnings per share of $0.82, though Darden reported profit of $1.02 a year ago. Revenue is expected to stay the same at $2.26 billion for the third quarter, adding up to a total of $8.80 billion for the year. Analysts predict $2.47 per share for Darden’s fiscal year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Rather than holding its scheduled analyst and investor meeting on March 28, Darden will meet with analysts and investors individually.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As of 1:53 PM EST, Darden shares dropped $0.15 to $49.32, a 0.30% decrease.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Meanwhile, Darden is urging shareholders to reject Starboard’s request for a meeting to discuss its plans for Red Lobster. Last month, Starboard said that Darden’s plans to either spin-out or sell Red Lobster is not in the best interests of the shareholders and could seriously lower the stock’s value.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In a regulatory filing, Darden said that it “strongly believes that Starboard’s special meeting is an unsatisfactory alternative to direct, ongoing engagement between the company and its shareholders,” according to Reuters. The company went on to say that it strongly urges shareholders to communicate their views directly to the company and “consider carefully the risks, costs, and alternatives to a special meeting.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue following Darden’s fiscal year and the growing concerns between Darden and Starboard.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://investor.darden.com/investors/investor-relations/default.aspx" target="_new"> Darden Restaurants </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
