Traders Purchase Large Volume of Darden Restaurants Put Options (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 3,025 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 2,011 put options.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Argus lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.39.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 3.0%

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $5.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $195.19. 1,572,788 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,823. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $179.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.