Short Interest in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Rises By 6.7%

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,050,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 5,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.8 %

DRI stock opened at $164.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. 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 one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $158.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.54.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total transaction of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares in the company, valued at $1,719. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,038 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.