Darden Restaurants Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 22,615 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,334% compared to the typical volume of 1,577 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $155.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.19. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

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.