Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 7.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 973 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 136.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $179.44 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.67 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Darden Restaurants’s 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.64.

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.