Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of DRI Q3 Earnings

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a report released on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $2.82 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.80. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.32 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.32 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.27 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $187.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The company has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $171.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.98.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $777,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.