What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for DRI FY2026 Earnings?

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Zacks Research lifted their FY2026 earnings estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $10.52 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $10.32. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q4 2026 earnings at $3.51 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.22 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.47 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $192.28 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.90. The firm has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,585,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $420,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 336.8% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 8,360 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,446 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.