On our restaurants panel in January, analysts talked about how 2007 was a tough year for casual dining. The day before our panel the company, according to our analysts, Darden Restaurants (DRI) “really got slammed”. However, 2 of the 3 analysts on the panel said that this was a good quality company, and that they were sticking to it for the long term.

Hopefully you followed their advice, as today Bloomberg reports:

Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI:US) advanced the most since May 27, gaining 4.3 percent to $32.95. The owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains reported fourth-quarter earnings before some items of 78 cents a share, more than analysts’ 75-cent estimate. The company also boosted its dividend 11 percent.

To take a look at our restaurant panel, and see what else these analyst picked and predicted for 2008, click here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 11:19 am and is filed under Consumer Stocks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.