The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.01% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of General Mills from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $44.61.

General Mills Price Performance

NYSE:GIS opened at $37.04 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.38 and its 200 day moving average is $46.65. General Mills has a 12 month low of $37.01 and a 12 month high of $62.61. The company has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 12.05%.The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Mills will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GIS. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 255.8% during the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 59,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after buying an additional 42,986 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter valued at about $417,508,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 346,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,445,000 after acquiring an additional 24,688 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in General Mills by 161.9% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 333,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,800,000 after acquiring an additional 205,981 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in General Mills by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting General Mills

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.