Short Interest in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Grows By 22.5%

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,603,379 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the December 31st total of 5,391,787 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,985,809 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,985,809 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Exiting Bahama Breeze lets Darden redeploy capital and management attention to higher-return, core concepts (Olive Garden, LongHorn, etc.), which can improve long-term margins and return on invested capital. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction suggests investors view the portfolio simplification favorably — the stock is trading up after the announcement as the move is seen as strategic focus rather than a long-term business weakness. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate update: Darden said it has “completed exploration of strategic alternatives” for Bahama Breeze and will proceed with the chosen path; the company framed this as a strategic decision rather than a divestiture sale. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage varies on the scale of closures — some outlets report the chain will be largely shut down, others report roughly half the sites will close; details and timing remain being clarified by Darden. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term financial pain likely: closures typically trigger impairment charges, lease termination costs, severance and one-time restructuring expenses that can reduce near-term earnings and cash flow. Investors should expect any related charges to show up in upcoming filings/earnings commentary. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and reputational risks — site-level closures mean job losses, local disruptions and potential lease or environmental liabilities; these can widen closure costs if exit terms are unfavorable. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,206,000 after buying an additional 31,815 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,536,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,816,000. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,441,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 17,195 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,273,000 after acquiring an additional 7,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $212.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.71. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

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.