Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Mizuho from $47.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.31% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GIS. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on General Mills from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Mills from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of General Mills from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four equities research 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 an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $44.61.

General Mills Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $37.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.65. General Mills has a 12-month low of $37.01 and a 12-month high of $62.61. 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 (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lifted its position in General Mills by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its position in shares of General Mills by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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”

General Mills Company Profile

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.