Brinker International and Darden Restaurants End the Week Near 52-Week Highs

Brinker International EAT and Darden Restaurants DRI reached new 52-week highs of $26.49 and $53.63 per share, respectively, Friday afternoon. Brinker saw its board extend its share buyback program in June by $250 million, and back in March the company boosted its quarterly dividend by 27%. The Dallas-based company is one of the world's largest casual dining companies and operates the Chili's Bar & Grill and Maggiano's Little Italy chains. It has a market cap of $2.2 billion. Brinker has a long-term EPS growth forecast of 13.3% and a P/E ratio that is lower than the industry average. It offers a dividend yield of 2.7% and has a return on equity of 25.9%. The share price is more than 25% higher than at the beginning of the year. The stock has outperformed its industry average, including competitor DineEquity DIN, as well as the broader markets, in that time. Darden said it expects to repurchase up to $450 million of its shares and also said it plans to focus more on value in promotions at its flagship chains. Darden has an $7.2 billion market cap and operates more than 1,800 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. Its chains include Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze. Its dividend yield is 2.4% and the return on equity is 24.1%. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 12.8% and the P/E ratio is lower than the industry average. Shares are trading nearly 14% higher year to date. The stock has outperformed the S&P 500 since then, but its performance has been in line with the restaurant industry average.