WESPAC Advisors LLC Takes $931,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc., buying 4,269 shares valued at approximately $931,000.
• Darden reported a revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, marking a 10.4% increase year-over-year, though it missed earnings expectations by $0.04 per share.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 to be paid on November 3rd, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%.

WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,269 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $748,215,000 after purchasing an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.6% during the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 913,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $189,768,000 after purchasing an additional 136,382 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 625,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $129,943,000 after purchasing an additional 37,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $84,801,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $191.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.18 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.07.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.

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