Trexquant Investment LP Invests $906,000 in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired 4,362 shares of Darden Restaurants, valued at approximately $906,000, during the first quarter, according to their recent SEC filing.
• Darden Restaurants reported $2.98 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating analyst estimates by $0.01, and has seen a revenue increase of 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company's Board approved a $1 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside a dividend increase from $1.40 to $1.50 per share.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,362 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $906,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,376,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,728,000 after buying an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,138,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,632. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.85. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $252.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.92.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.