Serving up profits and dividends
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), the operator of full-service restaurants Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and LongHorn Steakhouse in the United States and Canada, provided investors with a mixed report. Darden’s performance in the third quarter might give investors indigestion, as the company reported quarterly diluted earnings per share of $1.02, an 18% drop year-over-year.
Furthermore, while total sales grew 4.6% versus the prior year’s third quarter, these gains were due entirely to additional sales from new restaurants and the company’s Specialty Restaurant group. Its core group of Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and LongHorn Steakhouse posted a same-store sales (which measure locations open at least one year) decline of 4.6%.
On a positive note, Darden is actively turning its business in the right direction. Investors should take note of the company’s international growth initiatives as a way to engineer growth going forward. Darden recently announced it would build more than 50 restaurants in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Panama. Should these restaurants take hold, the company may benefit handsomely from this emerging market opportunity.
The Foolish takeaway
Despite mixed reports from Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) and Darden, they now appear attractively priced, trading for trailing price-to-earnings ratios of just 14. Each has something different to offer, depending on your investment desires. Growth-oriented investors will find more to like with Oracle, as its revenue growth over the past few years exceeds comparable growth from the broader market. Income investors would probably prefer Darden, because it offers a 4% dividend yield. Furthermore, Darden’s dividend growth over the past few years is impressive. In 2012, the company served investors a 16% dividend bump.
It’s hard to make the claim that NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is a screaming value play, but at the same time, it’s one of the world’s most recognizable and valuable brands. It’s worth adding, though, that as the stock continues to climb, the inherent margin of safety gets thinner and thinner. Nike will have to keep meeting the higher expectations Mr. Market is placing on the company. It currently exchanges hands for more than 25 times trailing twelve-month earnings, but at the same time, you can’t argue with results. The company’s performance continues to make the market happy, and investors should enjoy the ride.
The article Three Stocks Looking Attractive After Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Robert Ciura.
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