General Mills Inc. $57 – New York symbol GIS

GENERAL MILLS INC. $57 (New York symbol GIS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 336.8 million; Market cap: $19.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the second-largest cereal maker in the United States after Kellogg. Top brands include Cheerios, Chex, Total, Kix, and Wheaties. Other products include baking mixes (Betty Crocker), dinner mixes (Hamburger Helper) and yogurt (Yoplait). The company is doing a good job controlling its operating costs, which has helped offset rising grain prices. Hedging contracts and product price increases have also helped shield it from higher input costs. In its second fiscal quarter ended November 25, 2007, General Mills earned $390.5 million, up 1.3% from $385.4 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 5.6%, to $1.14 from $1.08, due to fewer shares outstanding. The latest earnings included a $0.04 a share charge stemming from a recall of frozen pizza. Sales rose 5.7%, to $3.7 billion from $3.5 billion. General Mills trades at 16.5 times its forecast 2008 earnings of $3.45 a share. The company also has a long history of dividend increases. The current rate of $1.56 yields 2.7%. General Mills is a buy.

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Blue chip stocks are big, well-established, dividend-paying corporations with strong business prospects. These are companies that also have sound management that should be able to make the right moves to keep competing successfully in a changing marketplace.

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Dividend stocks make cash payouts that serve as a way for companies to share the wealth they’ve accumulated. These payouts are drawn from earnings and cash flow and paid to the shareholders of the company. Typically, these dividends are paid quarterly, although they may be paid annually or even monthly as well.

Value Stocks

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One of the sweetest and most profitable pleasures of successful investing is to buy high-quality “value stocks” (or stocks that are reasonably priced, if not cheap, in relation to its sales, earnings or assets), then hold on to them as mainstream investors recognize the value and push up the share price.

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