Updating Procter & Gamble Co., Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. and HP Inc.

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PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $110 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.5 billion; Market cap: $275.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Divd. yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. For its fiscal 2019 third quarter, ended March 31, 2019, Procter’s sales rose 1.1%, to $17.4 billion from $16.5 billion a year earlier. Excluding businesses that it bought and sold, as well as foreign exchange rates, sales improved 5%. In the quarter, excluding one-time items, earnings rose 5.3%, to $2.79 billion from $2.65 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 6.0%, to $1.06 from $1.00, on fewer shares outstanding. For all of 2019, Procter’s earnings should rise 5.9% to $4.47 a share. It trades at a high 24.6 times the estimate, but that’s reasonable considering its leading brands and steady earnings growth. It also just raised its quarterly dividend by 4.0%. The new annual rate of $2.98 yields 2.7%. Procter…