Mizuho Cuts General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Price Target to $39.00

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its target price lowered by Mizuho from $47.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GIS. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of General Mills from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $44.61.

General Mills Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $37.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a 52-week low of $37.01 and a 52-week high of $62.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.63.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.66%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 139.8% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its buy/overweight stance on GIS (despite trimming its target earlier), signaling continued broker support for the turnaround thesis. Piper Sandler Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reaffirmed its buy/outperform view on GIS, providing another vote of confidence from a large broker. RBC Capital Keeps Their Buy Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Positive Sentiment: Diamond Hill Capital’s Mid-Cap strategy disclosed a new position in General Mills in Q4, indicating some institutional accumulation at these levels. Diamond Hill Mid Cap Strategy Initiated a Position in General Mills (GIS) in Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a hold rating, reflecting a wait-and-see view: management’s recovery plan is being acknowledged but not yet rewarded by all analysts. Jefferies Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted product innovation (more protein/fiber SKUs like Cheerios Protein) and portfolio reshaping (Brazil unit sale) as recovery levers; these are strategic positives but will take time to materially reverse top-line/margin trends. General Mills Bets on Protein and Fiber to Win Back Consumers
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed on EPS and showed an 8.4% YoY revenue decline; analysts flagged a tough consumer environment and lowered near-term forecasts. General Mills’ FQ3 miss highlights tough consumer environment — analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokers slashed price targets and/or lowered ratings after the print: UBS cut its target to $35 and kept a Sell; JPMorgan, UBS, Goldman, TD Cowen and others trimmed targets or moved to underweight/neutral — putting fresh downside risk and pressuring sentiment. General Mills price target lowered to $35 from $40 at UBS
• Negative Sentiment: Investor commentary (including Jim Cramer) and post-earnings notes highlight that management’s messaging and near-term guidance weren’t convincing, amplifying the sell-side cuts and heavy trading. Jim Cramer on General Mills: “Management Tried to Turn Minuses Into Pluses, But the Crowd Wasn’t Buying It”

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.