Darden Restaurants Reports In-Line Earnings; Boosts Dividend

Darden Restaurants DRI released its Q4 earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell. The company reported net earnings of $137.4 million or $0.99 per share, compared to $115.6 million or $0.80 per share, in the year ago period. Net earnings from continued operations were $1.00 versus $0.81 per share in Q4 2010. This was in-line with Wall Street analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $1.00. Revenues came in a $1.99 billion compared to $1.86 billion in last year's corresponding quarter. This was also exactly in-line with analysts' consensus revenue estimates of $1.99 billion. The company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.43 per share. This compares to the company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share. DRI is now yielding $1.72 annually, an increase of 34% based on the $0.43 dividend declaration. In the after hours trading session, DRI shares have lost 1.53% to $49.76.