Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires New Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd opened a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter, buying 27,116 shares worth about $5.3 million.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion; the company also raised its FY 2027 EPS guidance.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share from $1.50, implying a 3.2% yield, even as some executives sold shares and analysts maintained a generally Moderate Buy view.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 27,116 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,316,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after purchasing an additional 43,965 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $771,020,000 after buying an additional 68,245 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $537,001,000 after buying an additional 251,246 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $203.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $220.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $202.39 and a 200 day moving average of $201.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The company'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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% 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 Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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