Lion Street Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Lion Street Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants comprises 1.3% of Lion Street Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Lion Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,674 shares of company stock worth $1,507,575 over the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $181.12 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.90 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.59.

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.