Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, September 25, 2015

Article Excerpt

GENERAL MILLS INC., $57.43, New York symbol GIS, is one of the world’s largest food makers. 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 (yogourt). In its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended August 30, 2015, General Mills earned $426.6 million, up 23.6% from $345.2 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 25.4%, to $0.69 from $0.55, on fewer shares outstanding. Without unusual items, such as gains and losses on hedging contracts General Mills uses to lock in certain ingredient prices, earnings per share rose 29.5%, to $0.79 from $0.61. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.69. These gains are mainly because General Mills is now realizing the benefits of a restructuring plan that includes cutting 2% of its workforce. However, sales fell 1.4%, to $4.21 billion from $4.27 billion, missing the consensus forecast of $4.25 billion. If you disregard the negative impact of…