Nykredit A S Makes New Investment in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Nykredit A S acquired 48,432 shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter, valued at approximately $9.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of the company.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, exceeding expectations, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, a 3.0% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $230.50, although insiders sold roughly 70,185 shares worth $14.6 million during the quarter.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 48,432 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $9,977,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $216.87 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The company has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $209.44 and its 200 day moving average is $204.89.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura Williamson sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total value of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Argus increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.50.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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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