| Growing up in a small town, getting to eat at “The” Olive Garden was like a fancy treat.
Every August my grandmother would load me up and drive me 45 minutes to the nearest “big city.” After a few hours shopping for new school clothes, she’d treat me to unlimited salad and breadsticks.
To me, this was fine dining.
Fast forward (several) years, my tastes have evolved, and Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants (DRI) now has a real fine-dining powerhouse under its belt with its recent Ruth’s Chris Steak House acquisition.
Ruth’s Chris officially joined Darden’s other high-end banners like The Capital Grille in June.
As the company made its play for the upscale steakhouse this summer, we were detecting a notable pullback in consumers dining out – alerting our LikeFolio Investor subscribers to a bearish DRI trade in May.
Shares have indeed dipped by about 8%, and our paid-up members are looking at a profitable trade. (To learn how you can receive real-time trades delivered directly to your inbox with LikeFolio Investor, get started here. We’re already putting the finishing touches on the next one.)
However, LikeFolio data suggests it’s the heartwarming, value-driven brands like Olive Garden that are leading Darden’s growth of late.
As the data shifts, so does our strategy.
Here’s how we’re playing Darden from here…
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All the best, |
