Q4 EPS Forecast for Darden Restaurants Increased by Analyst

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Equities researchers at Wedbush raised their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimates for Darden Restaurants in a report issued on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $2.99 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.90. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.03 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.32 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on DRI. BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.0 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $186.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $188.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $167.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.86.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,320 shares of company stock worth $1,366,948 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.