Better products will cut their risk

Article Excerpt

These top foodmakers continue to adjust their portfolios, including launching new products, as well buying and selling various brands. These moves should spur their long-term earnings growth and cut their risk. Even so, we see only two of the three as buys for you right now. GENERAL MILLS INC. $60 is a hold. This consumer staples giant (New York symbol GIS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 555.2 million; Market cap: $33.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.generalmills.com) is one of the world’s largest foodmakers. Its top brands include Cheerios (cereal), Pillsbury (baking dough), Progresso (soups and salads) and Blue Buffalo (pet food). The company recently agreed to sell its North American yogurt business. That includes major brands such as Yoplait, Liberté, Go-Gurt, Oui, Mountain High and :ratio. French dairy producer Lactalis will buy the U.S. business, while a second French firm, Sodiaal, will acquire the Canadian operations. In all, General Mills will receive $2.1 billion when it completes the transaction in 2025. The…