General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Shares Up 2.5% – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GIS shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Mills from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of General Mills from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $36.59.

General Mills Trading Up 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a PE ratio of -20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently -146.99%.

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Mills by 7.8% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in General Mills by 45.0% in the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in General Mills by 0.6% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank raised its holdings in General Mills by 23.7% during the third quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 73.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.