General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price Up 2.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• General Mills shares rose 2.5% to approximately $33.40, though trading volume was 29% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating, with 10 Holds and 6 Sells versus 4 Buys, and an average price target of $36.59.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.75 and revenue of $4.39 billion, but revenue declined 2.8% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61, equivalent to a 7.3% annualized yield.

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS - Get Free Report) were up 2.5% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $33.60 and last traded at $33.3970. Approximately 6,817,682 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 9,584,327 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of General Mills from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $36.59.

General Mills Stock Up 2.5%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.03.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. General Mills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -146.99%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in General Mills during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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