General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Shares Climb 2.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $33.60 and last traded at $33.3970. 6,817,682 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 9,584,327 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GIS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of General Mills from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. TD Cowen increased 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. Weiss Ratings lowered General Mills from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. 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 data from MarketBeat, General Mills has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.59.

General Mills Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of -19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.57.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. General Mills had a positive return on equity of 21.86% and a negative net margin of 4.89%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is currently -146.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Mills by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 23,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 4,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in shares of General Mills by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by 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.