Well, one of my oldest holdings, General Mills, reported earnings today. The story in short? Revenue rose, as did costs due to inflation and supply chain disruptions. Earnings fell from a year earlier as a result. On the bright side, company executives say that with more workers continuing to work from home, demand for its packaged food products remains strong.

The stock near the close of trading was down 4% on the day. Like a leopard in the bushes, I felt tempted to leap out and chomp down on a cheap buying opportunity. After all, the company said it’s brands continue to gain share and prospects for future growth remain bright.

But I couldn’t talk myself into taking that leap. General Mills, which has been in my portfolio for a couple of decades and has served me well as a source of dividend income and, for most of it’s tenure, modest price appreciation.

But General Mills is the ultimate “hold” stock these days. Stable enough (and providing a an attractive 3% yield) so that I don’t want to unload my stake. But alas, the lack of any likely spark for share price appreciation or an increase in the dividend leaves me without much impetus to buy. At least for the moment. It wouldn’t take much more of a dip in the share price to tempt me out of the bushes.

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