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

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,810,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the October 31st total of 6,440,000 shares. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $171.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.41. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $177.67.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.