General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Falls 2.3% – What’s Next?

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) dropped 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $34.24 and last traded at $34.3870. Approximately 6,186,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 9,560,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GIS. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on General Mills from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $36.59.

General Mills Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.55.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. General Mills had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 21.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently -146.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Mills

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd purchased a new position in General Mills in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in General Mills in the first quarter valued at $27,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc is a global food company that manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its portfolio includes cereal, snack foods, refrigerated and baking products, yogurt, soup, meals, and pet food. The company’s brands include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Old El Paso, Progresso, Annie’s, Totino’s, Häagen-Dazs, and Blue Buffalo.

General Mills sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, e-commerce channels, restaurants, and other foodservice outlets.