Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $268,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,768,000 after buying an additional 136,382 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,441,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,275,000 after acquiring an additional 4,804 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 35.1% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $174.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.58. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $159.67 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. 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 report on Tuesday, September 16th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.82.

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.