Q1 EPS Estimates for Darden Restaurants Lifted by Wedbush

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Equities researchers at Wedbush raised their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a note issued to investors on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $2.07 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.03. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q4 2026 earnings at $3.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.93 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DRI. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $208.84 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $192.60 and a 200 day moving average of $177.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $210.47. 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 for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is 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.