General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Falls 1.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• General Mills shares fell 1.6% to about $32.59, trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $36.59, despite some firms maintaining Buy or Overweight views.
• The company beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, but revenue declined 2.8% year over year. General Mills also announced a $0.61 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 7.5% annualized yield.

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) were down 1.6% on Monday. The company traded as low as $32.37 and last traded at $32.5860. 8,584,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 9,606,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $36.59.

General Mills Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.40 and a 200-day moving average of $35.67.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. General Mills had a positive return on equity of 21.86% and a negative net margin of 4.89%. General Mills's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -146.99%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in General Mills in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc is a global food company that manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its portfolio includes cereal, snack foods, refrigerated and baking products, yogurt, soup, meals, and pet food. The company's brands include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Old El Paso, Progresso, Annie's, Totino's, Häagen-Dazs, and Blue Buffalo.

General Mills sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, e-commerce channels, restaurants, and other foodservice outlets.

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