Cramer: Amid Risk-On, Consumer Staples Stock Gains Too
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In a recovery, consumer staples stocks don't typically make big moves higher. Could General Mills be the exception to the rule?
Lately the stock has been on fire with shares popping 18% year to date.
"That kind of advance doesn't normally happen when the economy is doing this well. You rarely see the packaged food stocks rally along with industrials, oil and gas stocks, and housing," Cramer explained.
And the company appears to be firing on all cylinders.
They just reported strong earnings, which showed sales volume of its core brands rose for the first time in two years.
On the news, shares rose more than 3 percent to their highest level in at least three decades.
Looking at the numbers a little more closely, in the third quarter, ended on Feb. 24, net income rose to $398.4 million, or 60 cents per share, from $391.5 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier.
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Excluding items such as the costs of valuing commodity hedges and integrating recent acquisitions, earnings were 64 cents per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting 57 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales rose 7.5 percent to $4.43 billion.
"Plus, General Mills raised its full-year earnings guidance for 2013, and reaffirmed its strong guidance for high-single digit earnings growth in 2014. And this comes right on top of a 15% dividend boost just last week, bringing the yield up to nearly 3.2% at these levels," Cramer said.
"People own this stock for reinvested dividends," added Cramer. "If you hold this stock the company makes money for you."
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