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Stocks Of The Day: General Mills (NYSE: GIS); Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ)
By: iStockAnalyst   Wednesday, July 01, 2009 3:40 PM
Symbols: GIS, STZ

Analysts expect full-year profit of $1.62 per share.

On a segmental basis, quarterly sales of its spirits tumbled 43 percent to $60.1 million, while branded wine sales fell 10 percent to $687.9 million.

Gross margin fell to 33.9% from 35.3%.

In recent times, Constellation, which produces Mondavi wines and other brands, has been shifting its focus to premium-priced products, where most of the growth has been in the alcoholic beverages industry.

Constellation Brands is taking a number of steps to strenghten its balance sheet. Recently, it announced that it will sell off about 40 of its lower-end spirits brands to New Orleans-based Sazerac for $334 million,in order to pay down debt and focus its portfolio on higher-priced offerings. During the first quarter alone, debt levels fell $112 million during the quarter to $3.71 billion.For fiscal 2010, the company is targeting free cash flow to be in the range of $230 to $270. The  company is also quite determined to cut costs. Consolidated SG&A for the first quarter was 19.3% of net sale compared to 22.3% a year ago.

Looking at the balance sheet, the company has $13.10 million in cash and cash equivalents and $4.43 billion in debt. The stock currently trades at a forward P/E (fye 28-Feb-11) of  7.86 and PEG ratio (5 yr expected) of 0.93. 

Of the six Wall Street analysts who follow the stock, four rate it a Strong Buy while one tags it a Hold. One analystrecommends Moderate Sell. 

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.

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