Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,220,000 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the November 30th total of 6,670,000 shares. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $186.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.71. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $24,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,816 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 824.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,687,000 after buying an additional 36,334 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $1,081,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,901,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $326,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.