Running Oak Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Running Oak Capital LLC has decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.2%, now holding 77,818 shares valued at approximately $16.96 million.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Darden Restaurants, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.96.
• Darden recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1% and plans for a $1 billion stock repurchase program to buy back 3.8% of its shares.

Running Oak Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,818 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up about 1.9% of Running Oak Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Running Oak Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Darden Restaurants worth $16,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,714 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $204,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $631,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,516 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Argus reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock worth $412,738. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $193.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $202.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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