Candlestick Capital Management LP Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 108,701 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $20,293,000. Candlestick Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.09% of Darden Restaurants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.08 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,505 shares of company stock worth $6,667,929 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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