General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Given New $52.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has reduced the price target for General Mills from $54.00 to $52.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a target price averaging $58.13.
• General Mills reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.86, exceeding analyst expectations, but experienced a 6.8% decline in revenue year-over-year.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Barclays from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.92% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GIS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Mills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.13.

General Mills Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $50.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of -0.02. General Mills has a fifty-two week low of $48.29 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $49.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.90.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The firm's revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in General Mills by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 4.6% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.4% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in General Mills by 0.8% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 24,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in General Mills by 1.5% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.

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