Tidal Investments LLC Has $5.44 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,408 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 6,830 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $5,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $923,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2,139.4% in the fourth quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 59,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,011,000 after buying an additional 57,165 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,657,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 224.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 293,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,083,000 after acquiring an additional 53,549 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.79.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $209.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $229.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.68. The company has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total value of $226,795.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,197,257.28. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.