General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Downgraded by Piper Sandler to "Neutral"

Key Points

• Piper Sandler downgraded General Mills from “overweight” to “neutral” and cut its price target from $41 to $35, implying 2.47% upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: MarketBeat reported an average “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $36.24, with 11 Hold and 6 Sell ratings versus 3 Buy ratings.
• General Mills beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but EPS fell year over year to $0.75 and revenue declined 2.8% to $4.39 billion.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Piper Sandler from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Thursday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $35.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $41.00. Piper Sandler's price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.47% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on GIS. Barclays lifted their price target on General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank restated a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded General Mills from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $36.24.

General Mills Stock Performance

NYSE GIS opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.23. General Mills has a 1 year low of $31.17 and a 1 year high of $49.59.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. General Mills had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 21.86%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that General Mills will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in General Mills during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,181,608,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,298,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,097,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $121,707,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,889,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Latest General Mills News

Here's some of the latest news about GIS:

• Positive Sentiment: The new operating model is presented as a way to improve efficiency and support profitable growth over time. That offers a possible strategic upside, but it is a longer-term plan rather than an immediate earnings improvement. Can General Mills' New Operating Model Drive Profitable Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary has described GIS as a potential bargain after a substantial decline in its shares. This could attract value-oriented buyers, but the valuation argument alone does not resolve concerns about the company’s growth outlook. General Mills (GIS) Stock Could Be A Bargain After A 38% Fall
• Neutral Sentiment: The restructuring news is the clearest recent company-specific development in these reports. The articles do not describe an immediate financial impact, so investors may wait for evidence that the new structure improves results. General Mills to reorganize operating model into three segments

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc. is a food company that develops, manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its products include breakfast cereals, snack bars, baking mixes and refrigerated dough, along with meals and pet food. Its brands include Cheerios, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Blue Buffalo. The company traces its history to the Minneapolis Milling Company, established in 1866. The General Mills name was adopted in 1928 by the Washburn Crosby Company, a predecessor of today's business.

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