Head-To-Head Survey: Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL) vs. Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

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

Risk and Volatility

Giggles N’ Hugs has a beta of -0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 136% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Darden Restaurants has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Giggles N’ Hugs and Darden Restaurants, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Darden Restaurants has a consensus target price of $229.32, indicating a potential upside of 13.97%. Given Darden Restaurants’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Darden Restaurants is more favorable than Giggles N’ Hugs.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Darden Restaurants	$13.21 billion	1.74	$1.21 billion	$10.38	19.39

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Darden Restaurants shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Darden Restaurants shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Giggles N’ Hugs pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Darden Restaurants pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants pays out 57.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Darden Restaurants has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

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

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.

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.