Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,391,787 shares, an increase of 45.2% from the December 15th total of 3,713,922 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,068,266 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,068,266 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of DRI opened at $214.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.35 and a 200 day moving average of $194.74. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $849,726,000 after buying an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after buying an additional 629,669 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after acquiring an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.