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

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $35.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $41.00. Piper Sandler‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of General Mills from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Evercore set a $38.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.24.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.26 billion and a PE ratio of -20.58. General Mills has a 52-week low of $31.17 and a 52-week high of $49.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.70.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth $2,181,608,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,672,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,344,000 after purchasing an additional 143,265 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,200,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,335,000 after purchasing an additional 58,608 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 41.0% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,140,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 30.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,591,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,672,000 after purchasing an additional 836,286 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Mills News Roundup

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

General Mills Company Profile

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.