Warren Buffett has proven the key to investing is "buy to hold." The problem is, how do you know you're not holding onto a loser? For many investors, the only information they get besides glancing at an earnings release is the stock price. Separating the good from the bad is difficult, but finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices is a great way to accumulate a fortune over the long run.

With that in mind, we at The Motley Fool have an easy-to-use tool for you to see how your company is doing. We use the intelligence of the 135,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to see what the community is thinking about a company today, and compare that to how they felt about it last quarter. A change in approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings, the two highest) or disapproval (one- and two-star ratings) could indicate that further research is in order.

Here is the CAPS community's feeling for General Mills (NYSE:GIS), along with a pair of related companies. We've also given you the sentiment CAPS members had when it filed its latest quarterly or annual report. 

This Quarter (July 13, 2009):

General Mills Kellogg (NYSE: K) ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG)

Price:

$59.09

$47.92

$18.84

% of Members Rating Outperform

94.8%

91.3%

88.8%

% of All-Star Members Rating Outperform

94.8%

93.7%

93.4%

CAPS Rating

****

****

****

Gain (Loss) Since Last Quarter

24.1%

29.5%

26.5%

Last Quarter (March 18, 2009):

     

Price:

$47.63

$37.01

$14.89

% of Members Rating Outperform

94.3%

91%

87.6%

% of All-Star Members Rating Outperform

94.4%

93.4%

87.2%

CAPS Rating

*****      

****

***

Source: Motley Fool CAPS. Dates given are the posting dates of General Mills' most recent quarterly and/or annual reports to the SEC's website. Percentages are calculated from the number of members rating each company.

If you'd like to make your own call on General Mills, or post a pitch about why you think it will outperform or underperform the market, click here. Of course, you can also just visit to see what other members are saying about it now or what they are saying about more than 5,000 other stocks by joining us on CAPS.