Q1 EPS Estimates for Darden Restaurants Lifted by Wedbush

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Stock analysts at Wedbush raised their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $2.07 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.03. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $235.00 price objective 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company 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 was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $207.43 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.56. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $210.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at approximately $682,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,944,000 after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 11,175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.