Stock market news: Good quarter for General Mills

General Mills Inc., 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) and Progresso (soups and sauces). General Mills is one of the stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that gives you advice and stock market news for U.S. investing. In its 2011 fiscal year, which ended May 29, 2011, General Mills’ revenue rose 1.7%, to $14.9 billion from $14.6 billion in the previous year. Earnings rose 17.5%, to $1.8 billion from $1.5 billion. The company spent $1.2 billion on share buybacks in the latest fiscal year. Because of fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 20.5%, to $2.70 from $2.24. If you exclude gains and losses on hedging contracts that General Mills uses to lock in prices for corn, wheat and other ingredients, earnings per share would have risen 7.8%, to $2.48 from $2.30. That matched the consensus estimate. Higher volumes and selling prices were the main reasons for the revenue increase. Earnings benefited from a 7% decline in advertising spending, compared to a 24% increase in fiscal 2010. Rising ingredient and energy prices continued to put pressure on earnings growth. General Mills is a dividend paying stock. It raised its quarterly dividend by 8.9%, to $0.305 a share from $0.28. The new annual rate of $1.22 yields 3.3%. General Mills has paid dividends for 112 straight years, and has never cut its payout. We updated our buy/sell/hold advice and stock market news on General Mills in our June 30, 2011 Wall Street Stock Forecaster hotline, which you can immediately view when you take a 1-month free trial to Wall Street Stock Forecaster. Click here to get started right away. (Note: If you are a current Wall Street Stock Forecaster subscriber, please click here to view Pat’s recommendation. Be sure to log in first.)

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Scott Clayton

Scott is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for Dividend Advisor, Power Growth Investor and Canadian Wealth Advisor and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Scott began his investment and financial career working with Pat McKeough at The Investment Reporter in the 1980s. Subsequently, he worked at the Financial Post Corporation Service for 10 years. He joined TSI Network in 1998. He is a Bachelor of Economics graduate of York University, and he also has an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business.

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