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

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its target price decreased by analysts at UBS Group from $40.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential downside of 5.49% from the company’s previous close.

GIS has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research cut General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of General Mills from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $44.61.

General Mills Trading Down 1.2%

General Mills stock opened at $37.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of -0.05. General Mills has a 12-month low of $37.01 and a 12-month high of $62.61.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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%.General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Mills will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in General Mills by 255.8% in the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 59,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 42,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 2nd quarter valued at about $417,508,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 24,688 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 161.9% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 333,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,800,000 after buying an additional 205,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 22.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,628,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,625,000 after buying 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 General Mills News

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.