Short Interest in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Expands By 8.3%

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the March 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.07 on Wednesday, hitting $153.07. 768,954 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,150,503. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,911,012,000 after acquiring an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,380,814,000 after purchasing an additional 455,588 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $369,070,000 after purchasing an additional 52,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $396,532,000 after purchasing an additional 54,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

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.