Bank of Nova Scotia Buys Shares of 75,113 Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia purchased 75,113 Darden Restaurants shares in the second quarter, establishing a stake worth approximately $15.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $230.12, although company insiders sold approximately $14.6 million of shares during the latest quarter.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 75,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $15,474,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.07% of Darden Restaurants as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $2,015,109,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $629,736,000 after buying an additional 991,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $204,099,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $144,483,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $225.56 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $208.63 and its 200 day moving average is $204.61. The company has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 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 business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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