Cullen Investment Group LTD. Has $7.54 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 5.9%, acquiring an additional 1,913 shares, bringing its total to 34,573 shares valued at $7,536,000.
• Darden Restaurants announced a $1 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the stock's valuation, while insiders sold a total of 45,727 shares worth $10 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target average of $224.92, indicating continued confidence in the company's growth potential.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,573 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises 1.1% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded down $2.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.97. 1,261,861 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,283,917. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $207.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.09.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, 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 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

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.