Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Short Interest Down 6.7% in December

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,220,000 shares, a decline of 6.7% from the November 30th total of 6,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.0 %

DRI stock opened at $186.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $170.83 and its 200-day moving average is $159.45. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $72,000. 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.