Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Short Interest Down 10.3% in September

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,670,000 shares, a drop of 10.3% from the August 31st total of 6,320,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,310,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $164.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,345,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,102. The company has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,386 shares of company stock valued at $11,780,551. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $4,216,000. Farmers National Bank increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $1,856,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 71,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,862,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by 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.