Short Interest in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Rises By 22.5%

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,603,379 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the December 31st total of 5,391,787 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,985,809 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,985,809 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the sale, the insider owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $205.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $192.50 and its 200 day moving average is $193.57. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

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.