Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for DRI Earnings

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $2.82 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.80. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.32 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.32 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.27 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. Citigroup dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $189.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.98. The company has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.