General Mills (GIS): Tasty selection
"Few investments have a proven track record of defying a sinking economy and market, but General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is among them," says Martin Weiss in his Safe Money Report.
"You probably have some of General Mills’ products in your pantry or freezer. The Minneapolis-based food firm makes everything from Cheerios and Chex cereals to Fruit Roll-Ups, Bisquick pancake mix, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
"This broad consumer product line has helped it deliver solid single-digit earnings growth not only in good times, but also the worst quarters of the recession. Now, in its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, General Mills knocked the cover off the ball.
"Its profit shot up 94%, while earnings excluding non-recurring items topped analyst estimates by a nickel per share. General Mills also hiked its full-year 2010 outlook, citing a widening out in profit margins.
"Most important for conservative investors: General Mills’ history of paying out consistent, healthy dividends. The stock’s payout has climbed from 39 cents per share two years ago to 47 cents per share today, good for an indicated yield of around 3.2% at recent prices.
"Is General Mills invulnerable to a stock market decline? Of course not. If you had bought its shares on January 1, 2008, by mid-March of this year, you would have lost money.
"But only about 3% after taking into account share price performance and dividends! In contrast, with an average S&P 500 stock held during the same period, you would have been down 55% (excluding dividends).
"That divergence in performance is very impressive. And what has really caught our attention was that recently while the S&P 500 dropped by some 70 points, General Mills shares had risen."
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