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Darden Restaurants (DRI) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Darden Restaurants logo
$199.42 -7.82 (-3.77%)
Closing price 09/25/2026 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$199.03 -0.39 (-0.20%)
As of 09/25/2026 07:42 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Darden Restaurants - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
0
Hold
9
Buy
18

Based on 27 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Darden Restaurants in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 27 analysts, 9 have given a hold rating, and 18 have given a buy rating for DRI.

Consensus Price Target

$232.38
16.53% Upside
According to the 27 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Darden Restaurants, the average price target is $232.38. The highest price target for DRI is $276.00, while the lowest price target for DRI is $200.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 16.53% from the current price of $199.42.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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DRI Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/26/25 to 9/26/26
1 Month Ago
8/27/25 to 8/27/26
3 Months Ago
6/28/25 to 6/28/26
1 Year Ago
9/26/24 to 9/26/25
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
18 Buy rating(s)
18 Buy rating(s)
17 Buy rating(s)
18 Buy rating(s)
Hold
9 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
10 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
Sell
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$232.38$230.50$228.32$225.96
Forecasted Upside16.53% Upside9.16% Upside6.80% Upside19.88% Upside
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy

DRI Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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DRI Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Darden Restaurants Stock vs. The Competition

TypeDarden RestaurantsConsumer Discretionary CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.67
2.19
2.53
Consensus RatingModerate BuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside16.53% Upside199.07% Upside19.20% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Neutral News

See Recent DRI News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
9/25/2026Reiterated RatingOutperform$230.00+11.53%
9/25/2026
Citigroup Inc. logo
Citigroup
4 of 5 stars
Jon Tower
1 of 5 stars
Lower TargetBuy$248.00 ➝ $247.00+22.77%
9/25/2026
Guggenheim logo
Guggenheim
5 of 5 stars
Gregory Francfort
Gregory Francfort
1 of 5 stars
Reiterated RatingBuy$235.00+13.62%
9/25/2026Boost TargetOutperform$235.00 ➝ $245.00+18.45%
9/25/2026Lower TargetMarket Perform$225.00 ➝ $220.00+6.37%
9/25/2026Reiterated RatingEqual Weight$220.00+6.37%
9/25/2026Reiterated RatingBuy$235.00+13.62%
9/24/2026Reiterated RatingHold$215.00+0.72%
9/23/2026Reiterated RatingOverweight
9/17/2026 UpgradeBuy (B-) ➝ Buy (B)
9/15/2026Boost TargetOutperform$235.00 ➝ $245.00+15.24%
9/14/2026Boost TargetOverweight$236.00 ➝ $255.00+18.92%
9/11/2026Reiterated RatingBuy
8/24/2026UpgradeNeutral ➝ Outperform$220.00 ➝ $250.00+12.71%
6/30/2026Boost TargetBuy$240.00 ➝ $245.00+18.74%
6/26/2026Boost TargetBuy$230.00 ➝ $236.00+12.02%
6/26/2026Boost TargetNeutral$208.00 ➝ $212.00+0.43%
6/23/2026 DowngradeOutperform ➝ In-Line$230.00+8.66%
6/5/2026Boost TargetBuy$272.00 ➝ $276.00+40.43%
3/20/2026Boost TargetEqual Weight$200.00 ➝ $210.00+1.08%
3/20/2026Boost TargetOverweight$227.00 ➝ $232.00+13.75%
1/23/2026 UpgradeHold ➝ Buy
1/21/2026Reiterated RatingOutperform ➝ Market Perform
1/8/2026Reiterated RatingBuy ➝ Hold$240.00 ➝ $207.00+3.53%
12/15/2025Lower TargetHold$210.00 ➝ $200.00+7.58%
10/20/2025UpgradeNeutral ➝ Buy$225.00+19.58%
10/6/2025Lower TargetOverweight$240.00 ➝ $230.00+18.97%
6/20/2025Reiterated RatingHold$215.00-3.48%
3/21/2025Boost TargetOutperform$220.00 ➝ $235.00+18.29%
3/21/2025Boost TargetBuy$205.00 ➝ $215.00+8.23%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 06:34 PM ET.


Should I Buy Darden Restaurants Stock? DRI Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Darden Restaurants pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Darden Restaurants
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Darden Restaurants, Inc.:

  • The stock is currently trading at $213.30, which is below the consensus price target of $231.87 set by analysts who maintain a "Moderate Buy" rating, suggesting potential for capital appreciation as the market digests upcoming earnings.
  • Darden Restaurants recently increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to $1.62 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of approximately 3.1%, which provides a growing income stream for investors and signals management confidence in the company's cash generation capabilities.
  • The company demonstrated strong operational performance in its most recent reported quarter, beating consensus estimates with earnings per share of $3.66 and achieving a 13.7% year-over-year revenue increase, indicating effective execution and demand for its dining brands.
  • Institutional interest remains robust, with 93.64% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors, and recent filings show new capital inflows, such as Nykredit A S acquiring a new stake valued at approximately $9.27 million in the second quarter.
  • Analyst sentiment has improved recently, with multiple firms including Guggenheim, KeyCorp, and Citigroup raising their price targets and maintaining buy or overweight ratings, reflecting a positive outlook on the company's future growth trajectory.

Darden Restaurants
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Darden Restaurants, Inc. for these reasons:

  • Insider selling activity has been significant recently, with the CEO selling 39,134 shares and other executives reducing their positions, which can signal a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term upside or a desire to lock in gains.
  • The company faces headwinds from inflation and affordability pressures that could limit customer traffic and squeeze restaurant-level margins, as noted in recent earnings previews that caution against expecting a typical earnings beat.
  • Short interest has been rising, with shares shorted increasing to 6,652,438 as of the latest record date, representing a 2.2% month-over-month increase, which indicates that a portion of the market is betting against the stock's performance.
  • The company's current ratio of 0.31 and quick ratio of 0.21 suggest limited short-term liquidity to cover immediate liabilities, which could be a concern for investors focused on financial stability during periods of economic uncertainty.
  • Despite strong revenue growth, the company's net margin of 9.13% and the rising costs associated with ingredients and labor, as seen in the broader restaurant sector, pose risks to future profitability if pricing power does not offset these expenses.

DRI Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 27 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Darden Restaurants is $232.38, with a high forecast of $276.00 and a low forecast of $200.00.

27 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Darden Restaurants in the last year. There are currently 9 hold ratings and 18 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" DRI shares.

According to analysts, Darden Restaurants's stock has a predicted upside of 16.53% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Darden Restaurants's stock had 3 upgrades and 1 downgrade by analysts.

Darden Restaurants has been rated by research analysts at Argus, BMO Capital Markets, BTIG Research, Citigroup, Guggenheim, KeyCorp, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Robert W. Baird, Sanford C. Bernstein, Stephens, TD Cowen, UBS Group, and Weiss Ratings in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Darden Restaurants more than other "consumer discretionary" companies. The consensus rating for Darden Restaurants is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "consumer discretionary" companies is Hold. Learn more on how DRI compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Darden Restaurants analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/25/2026.
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