General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Jumps 7.9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• General Mills shares surged 7.9% to about $35.15 on heavier-than-average trading volume.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $36.59; ratings include four Buys, ten Holds, and six Sells.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while announcing a $0.61 quarterly dividend—or $2.44 annualized—yielding approximately 6.9%.

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 7.9% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $35.19 and last traded at $35.1520. Approximately 11,385,812 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 9,586,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GIS. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 target price on General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $36.59.

General Mills Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.03.

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

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. General Mills's payout ratio is currently -146.99%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Mills by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 68,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 78.5% during the third quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 13,148 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the third quarter worth about $109,000. T3 Companies LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 3.7% in the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company's stock.

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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