General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills (NYSE:GIS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

GIS has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Mills from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on General Mills from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of General Mills from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $39.16.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $38.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.94 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills has a one year low of $31.75 and a one year high of $51.33.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.59 billion. General Mills had a positive return on equity of 21.37% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.General Mills’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. General Mills has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.000-3.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that General Mills will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,355.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the second quarter worth approximately $2,181,608,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Mills by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,717,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,700,060,000 after purchasing an additional 145,701 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,697,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,953,000 after acquiring an additional 488,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Mills by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,197,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,170,000 after purchasing an additional 172,200 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in General Mills by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,837,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,443,000 after buying an additional 200,043 shares during the period. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.