General Mills Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (GIS)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- General Mills (NYSE:GIS) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, attractive valuation levels, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.

• EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Jim Cramer's Protégé, Dave Peltier, only buys Stocks Under $10 that he thinks could potentially double. See what he's trading today with a 14-day FREE pass

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 10.8%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.3%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• 43.60% is the gross profit margin for GENERAL MILLS INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 13.54% is above that of the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has increased to $488.80 million or 10.88% when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of -23.38%.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Food Products industry. The net income increased by 35.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $405.60 million to $548.90 million.

General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries. General Mills has a market cap of $26.22 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and food & beverage industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 15.9, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 1.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full General Mills Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

Holiday Special: Subscribe to Action Alerts PLUS to see how Jim Cramer trades his $2.5 Million+ portfolio for 51% off the list price. Your first 14-days are FREE: Sign up today to get e-mail alerts before every trade

For more information on General Mills Inc. click any of the following:

• General Mills Inc. Stock Price

• General Mills Inc. Analyst Ratings

• General Mills Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• General Mills Inc. Earnings

• General Mills Inc. Ratio Comparison

• General Mills Inc. Growth Rates

• General Mills Inc. Balance Sheet

• General Mills Inc. Cash Flow

• General Mills Inc. Income Statement