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

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $53.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.51% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GIS. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut General Mills from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $44.61.

General Mills Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of GIS stock opened at $37.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05. General Mills has a 1 year low of $37.01 and a 1 year high of $62.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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