Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, September 23, 2016

Article Excerpt

GENERAL MILLS INC., $64.65, New York symbol GIS, 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), Progresso (soups and salads) and Yoplait (yogurt). In its fiscal 2017 first quarter, which ended August 28, 2016, General Mills earned $409.0 million. That’s down 4.1% from $426.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell just 2.9%, to $0.67 from $0.69, on fewer shares outstanding. If you leave out all unusual items, including costs related to the restructuring of its international operations, General Mills earned $0.78 a share in the latest quarter. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.76. The company expects its latest restructuring will cut $620 million from its annual expenses by 2018. Sales in the quarter fell 7.1%, to $3.91 billion from $4.21 billion. That missed the consensus forecast of $3.92 billion. Excluding the negative impact of currency rates, sales fell…