Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $1.62

by · The Cerbat Gem

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th.

Darden Restaurants has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Darden Restaurants has a dividend payout ratio of 56.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Darden Restaurants to earn $12.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.2%.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $6.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $206.83. 1,953,615 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,341,457. The company has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $229.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.73. 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 (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $1,846,637.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,354.02. This represents a 32.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $651,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $204,099,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $144,483,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $118,824,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Darden Restaurants

(Get Free Report)

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.

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