Reviewing Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL) & Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) and Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Darden Restaurants pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Giggles N’ Hugs pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Darden Restaurants pays out 57.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Darden Restaurants has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Darden Restaurants has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Giggles N’ Hugs has a beta of -0.34, indicating that its stock price is 134% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Darden Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Darden Restaurants	0	10	17	0	2.63
Giggles N’ Hugs	0	0	0	0	0.00

Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus price target of $229.32, suggesting a potential upside of 13.43%. Given Darden Restaurants’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Darden Restaurants is more favorable than Giggles N’ Hugs.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Darden Restaurants shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Darden Restaurants shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Darden Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Darden Restaurants	$13.21 billion	1.75	$1.21 billion	$10.38	19.48
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Darden Restaurants has higher revenue and earnings than Giggles N’ Hugs.

Profitability

This table compares Darden Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Darden Restaurants	9.13%	57.44%	9.62%
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Darden Restaurants beats Giggles N’ Hugs on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Darden Restaurants

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. Darden Restaurants, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Orlando, Florida.

About Giggles N’ Hugs

Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of restaurants. It offers an upscale family-friendly atmosphere with a play area dedicated to children ages 10 and younger. The restaurant has a menu made from fresh, organic foods with the play elements and entertainment. The company was founded by Joey Parsi and Dorsa Foroughi on September 17, 2004 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.