Topic: Growth Stocks

The Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, March 26, 2010

Article Excerpt

GENERAL MILLS INC., $70.48, New York symbol GIS, fell 3.5% this week, even though the company reported better-than-expected earnings and sales in its latest quarter. General Mills is the second-largest cereal maker in the U.S., after Kellogg. It also makes yogurt, baking mixes and canned and frozen vegetables, among other foods. In the three months ended February 28, 2010, General Mills’ sales rose 2.6%, to $3.63 billion from $3.54 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus sales estimate of $3.62 billion. Sales at General Mills’ U.S. retail division rose 3%, as strong cereal sales offset a drop in soup demand. International sales rose 11%, mainly because of favourable foreign-exchange rates. However, sales at the company’s bakery division fell 10%. That’s because General Mills stopped producing some less-profitable products. Earnings per share jumped 22.8%, to $0.97 from $0.79 a year earlier. These figures exclude losses on hedging contracts that the company uses to lock in prices for wheat, corn and other raw materials…