Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Short Interest Update

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,391,787 shares, an increase of 45.2% from the December 15th total of 3,713,922 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,068,266 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,068,266 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $214.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 75.4% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.8% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,178 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 236.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,271,000 after purchasing an additional 35,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.