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

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research note issued 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 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $192.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $196.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.03. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00.

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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,311 shares of company stock worth $13,658,221 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,622,000 after buying an additional 193,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.