Leaner food makers set for more gains

Article Excerpt

Prices for wheat, corn and other commodities are up sharply in 2012. That’s hurting profit margins at these four leading food producers. But that hasn’t stopped all four stocks from moving up in the past year. That’s because they continue to do a good job of streamlining their operations. They’re also benefiting from acquisitions, new products and rising sales in developing countries. GENERAL MILLS INC. $40 (New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 645.2 million; Market cap: $25.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) is one of the world’s largest food makers. Its top brands include Big G (cereal), Green Giant (canned and frozen vegetables), Pillsbury (baking dough), Old El Paso (tacos) and Progresso (soups and sauces). In General Mills’ fiscal 2013 first quarter, which ended August 26, 2012, its sales rose 5.3%, to $4.05 billion from $3.8 billion a year earlier. Most of this gain is due to the company’s July 2011…