Microsoft (MSFT) (BKS) (CUK) (GIS) (ODP) Ratings Reiterated

Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS), Carnival (NYSE: CUK), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) had ratings reiterated on them.

Duncan Williams maintains a "Buy" rating on Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS). They have a price target of $61.50 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated a "Buy" rating on Carnival (CUK).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a "Buy" rating on General Mills (GIS).

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) maintains an "Overweight" rating on Microsoft (MSFT).

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Office Depot, Inc. (ODP).

Barnes & Noble closed Thursday at $17.38, falling $0.15, or 0.86 percent. Carnival closed at $35.97, down $0.71, or 1.94 percent. General Mills ended the day at $37.36, gaining $0.48, or 1.30 percent. Microsoft closed at $26.47, dropping $0.16, or 0.60 percent. Office Depot closed at $3.75, declining $0.21, or 5.30 percent.

Conoco (COP) (DVN) (RIG) (WCAA) (GIS) Have Ratings Reiterated

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Devon Energy Co. (NYSE: DVN), Transocean (NYSE: RIG), WCA Waste Corp. (NASDAQ: WCAA) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) have ratings reiterated by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) maintains their "Hold" rating on ConocoPhillips (COP), which announced they're going to split the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Devon Energy Co. (DVN).

Duncan Williams reiterated a "Buy" rating on Transocean (RIG). They have a price target of $101.25 on the company.

Wunderlich reiterated its "Hold" rating on WCA Waste Corp. (WCAA).

Citigroup reiterated its "Buy" rating on shares of General Mills (GIS).

ConocoPhillips closed Thursday at $75.61, gaining $1.21, or 1.63 percent. Devon Energy closed at $77.90, falling $0.40, or 0.51 percent. Transocean ended the day at $60.56, dropping $0.07, or 0.12 percent. WCA Waste Corp. closed at $5.67, down $0.12, or 2.07 percent. General Mills closed at $37.36, rising $0.48, or 1.30 percent.

Price Targets on (CPB) (GIS) (HSY) Raised

Price targets on Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB), General Mills (NYSE: GIS) and Hershey (NYSE: HSY) were raised by analysts.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) raised their price target on Campbell Soup Company (CPB) from $31.00 to $33.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Deutsche Bank raised their price target on General Mills (GIS) from $42.00 to $44.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Deutsche Bank raised their price target on Hershey (HSY) from $51.00 to $53.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Ralcorp (RAH) Tells ConAgra (CAG) No Marriage

ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) evidently is showing they want Ralcorp (NYSE:RAH) very badly, as for the second time within a couple of months they made a bid for the leading producer of private label foods, and for the second time were rejected.

ConAgra had offered $83 a share for the company in March, and today offered $86 a share.

Ralcorp (RAH) has grown pretty quickly, and now stands at a little under half the market cap of ConAgra. If ConAgra does want them before they become too big to digest, they will probably have to bring in offer in the $90 range or more to secure a deal.

Competitors Kraft (NYSE:KFT), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), and Kellogg (NYSE:K) were trading mixed today.

Ralcorp was trading at $89.53, gaining $2.14, or 2.45 percent, as of 10:44 AM EDT.

Dividend Yields for (GIS) (PEP) (KO) (DPS) (SLE)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies General Mills Inc (GIS), PepsiCo Inc (PEP), Coca-Cola Co (KO), Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and Sara Lee Corp (SLE).

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

General Mills Inc (GIS) has a dividend yield of 2.90 percent on a declared dividend of $0.28. The payout ratio is 46.2 percent.

PepsiCo Inc (PEP) has a dividend yield of 2.79 percent on a declared dividend of $0.48. The payout ratio is 66.5 percent.

Coca-Cola (KO) has a dividend yield of 2.79 percent on a declared dividend of $0.47. The payout ratio is 56.7 percent.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS) has a dividend yield of 2.55 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 49.0 percent.

Sara Lee Corp (SLE) has a dividend yield of 2.40 percent on a declared dividend of $0.12. The payout ratio is 69.9 percent.

Food Companies (KFT) (PG) (GIS) (Dole) Offering Less for More

With rising costs pressuring earnings at food companies like Kraft (NYSE:KFT), Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG), General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Dole (NYSE:DOLE), the companies have decided to offer less for more, as they shrink the size of their offerings while charging more.

This isn't anything new, as this has been the typical response of the food companies at times when consumer budgets are tight.

So when a consumer buys a bag of something, for example, now they'll find about 20 percent less than what it held before, but at the same price.

In tough times consumers are more aware of prices than they are on volume in the package, so companies can make these types of moves with a minimum of fuss.

Rising costs of inputs in the supply chain are the reasons for the companies changing their strategies.

General Mills (GIS) Acquires $1.1 Billion Stake in Yoplait

The deal made between General Mills (NYSE:GIS) for Yoplait includes the creation two structures - one entity that holds the brand rights and another company that runs the operations. That allows Sodiaal to retain an equal stake in the lucrative licensing business, while General Mills takes a 51 percent stake in the operating business.

General Mills has held the license for Yoplait yoghurt in the United States since 1977, where it has a market share of around 35 percent.

The acquisition of the Yoplait stake protects General Mills' U.S. distribution rights and eliminates the risk of a competitor edging in on that business, analysts said.

The deal also provides an attractive exit for France's PAI Partners, which first invested in Yoplait in 2002, when the company was valued at about 400 million euros.

General Mills was trading at $36.40, up $0.27, or 0.75 percent, as of 12:51 PM EDT.



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Wells Fargo (WFC), Medtronic (MDT), General Mills (GIS) Latest to Offer Aid to Japan

As needs of Japan pile up, a growing number of corporations, including Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and General Mills (NYSE:GIS), are pledging dollars for aid.

Wells Fargo announced it would contribute as much as $1 million, with $500,000 going immediately to the American Red Cross to support the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund. The bank added it would also match contributions from employees dollar for dollar, up to another $500,000.

General Mills said it pledged $650,000 to the Red Cross International Disaster Response Fund, while committing to match employee and retiree gifts to the Red Cross up to an additional $100,000.

Medtronic said it has committed $1 million in direct grants, employee matching grants and product donations. The company said the direct grants would go to organizations aiding relief efforts.

General Mills closed Tuesday at $36.55, down $0.37, or 1.00 percent. Medtronic closed at $37.31, falling $0.52, or 1.37 percent. Wells Fargo closed at $32.27, gaining $0.17, or 0.53 percent.

Kellogg (NYSE:K), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE), Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) Good Investments

The branded food industry, represented by companies like Kellogg's (NYSE:K), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) and Pepsico (NYSE:PEP), are going to struggle for some time, as rising food prices will pressure margins, and even some boosts in food prices will be risky in light of people having the option of returning to generic food labels.

Increasing food demand and some weather conditions have resulted in the price of food skyrocketing, and as far as food demand goes, that isn't going to go away for a long time to come.

So where does that leave the branded food companies? In a very weak place. There's little they can do to combat the situation, and only raising prices can help them in their fight against shrinking margins and earnings, which is a limited option at best, and one they can only take so far.

Far better agricultural or food plays would be futures for some, and in those providing fertilizer and machinery to farmers. Food companies are going to be under immense pressure, and there is no doubt over the long term their business models will be questioned.

Other food areas that need to be watched closely are meat providers and restaurants, which will struggle in a very similar way as food companies, although restaurants may have some more options because not all food will rise, and they could spread price increases across the overall meal with not as much negative feedback.

Grocery store prices are watched on an individual item basis when prices are up, and shoppers quickly respond by going to a different item or category, such as generic mentioned above.

John Deere (NYSE:DE), Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT), Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU) are all solid plays whose products will be required to serve the growing demand for food, no matter what the end-product prices will be at the store.

Companies like these can pass input prices onto farmers, farmers onto processors and processors onto food companies. At that point, the limitations of the market come in, and there is less that can be done at that level than those before it.

That's not to say there aren't pressures below that level, as Monsanto found out with farmers who gravitated toward seeds from DuPont (NYSE:DD) when they felt the seed prices of Monsanto were too high. That was even with Monsanto having a superior seed, as far as measured by the number of traits.

All of that is part of the dynamic, but in the end, food companies are handed the least flexible situation, and will have the bulk of the challenge in how to overcome shrinking margins.

P&G (NSYE:PG), PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) Top Consumer Staples Picks of Goldman (NYSE:GS)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is starting to like the consumer staples sector better, and their top picks include P&G (NSYE:PG), PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Philip Morris (NYSE:PM).

Of all of this is predicated on the assumption there will be a global and U.S. recovery, none of which are certain by any means.

It also appears brands are pulling back on their battle, which could boost margins and earnings for the companies.

All Goldman could say about the condition of the U.S. economy was that it's "less bad" than it has been; not a great generator of confidence.

The top picks of Goldman based on the assumption the U.S. economy will recover, are Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD), P&G (PG) and PepsiCo (PEP).

If things go well economically across the globe, Goldman likes Coca-Cola Company (KO) and Philip Morris International (PM).

Believing 2011 will be a strong year for acquisitions, Goldman sees Hansen (Nasdaq:HNSN), Lorillard (NYSE:LO) and Mead Johnson (NYSE:MJN) as "Buys."

Finally, assuming inflationary conditions, their favorite in the sector is General Mills (NYSE:GIS).

Proctor & Gamble were trading at $64.89, up $0.85, or 1.34 percent, as of 1:03 PM Est. Pepsico was trading at $66.66, up $0.33, or 0.50 percent. Coca-Cola was at $63.00, up $0.31, or 0.49 percent. Philip Morris was trading at $56.48, up $0.46, or 0.82 percent.

ConAgra (NYSE:CAG), Campbells (NYSE:CPB), General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Face Unpredictability

According to Barclays (NYSE:BCS), they see the models being used to evaluate companies like ConAgra (NYSE:CAG), Campbells (NYSE:CPB) and General Mills (NYSE:GIS) as being completely wrong, and they face a time of unpredictability going forward.

Barclays said, "What has become very clear to us over the last several quarters is that all of "our" models - and by that we mean both company and Wall Street models - have been inaccurate in assessing just how difficult the past two quarters would be for the food group. Looking forward, these same models may well prove just as wrong in predicting how achievable EPS growth acceleration might be over the next two quarters. Recall that Consensus estimates now imply about +11% EPS growth in F2H for such companies as CAG, Campbells, General Mills, etc. - vs. relatively anemic growth in F1H -- and call for a "hockey stick" cadence to their fiscal years.

"In our view, this sort of operating backdrop calls for a so-called "80% solution", as CPB CEO Conant recently termed it. That is, the reality is, in such an uncertain environment with an ever-shifting consumer, we believe food companies can't afford to wait for total clarity regarding strategic direction before acting. Instead, they must hope that they're "right enough" and be quick to course correct as circumstances change."

Barclays maintains an "Equalweight" on ConAgra, which closed Wednesday at $22.49, up $0.09, or 0.40 percent. Barclays has a price target on them of $25.

Campbell Soup closed at $34.33, down $0.23, or 0.67 percent. General Mills closed at $35.61, up $0.18, or 0.51 percent.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Could Win if they Miss

As it looks like it'll be difficult for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) to meet full year EPS estimates, as they struggled, along with other food companies in the first half of the year.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) believes that even if they miss, if they they do well in the second half it could be considered positive going forward based on the low sentiment around the overall sector.

Barclays said, "GIS has officially joined the long list of fiscal year-end food companies that have posted somewhat challenged fiscal 1H results and now look for a dramatic step up in earnings growth rates to meet full year expectations. For example, GIS, after a slight decline in F1H EPS YOY, will need to generate a - 20% YOY gain in F2H11 in order to meet consensus EPS estimates for the full year (the high-end of management's guidance)."

"...Still, if full year estimates prove to be overly optimistic for the fiscal year names, we expect that investors are likely to see a sequential acceleration in YOY EPS growth from here, which may well be viewed positively, given the more dire sentiment around the group of late."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" on General Mills, which closed Friday at $36.38, down $0.21, or 0.57 percent. They have a price target of $38.50 on them.