Q4 EPS Forecast for Darden Restaurants Lifted by Analyst

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will earn $3.57 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.55. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q2 2027 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.24 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $3.78 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.15 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $2.48 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $196.35 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.51 and its 200-day moving average is $193.66. The company has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Capital World Investors grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after buying an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,071,746,000 after buying an additional 100,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $771,020,000 after buying an additional 68,245 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,787,992. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.