Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) - Zacks Research boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $10.52 for the year, up from their previous forecast 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.
A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on DRI. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants Price Performance
NYSE:DRI traded up $7.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $194.09. 755,070 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,280,443. The company has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $196.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,947,346. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.
About Darden Restaurants
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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