Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Stock Price

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $78.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.26% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GIS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on General Mills from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Mills from $83.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Mills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.94.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $60.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. General Mills has a 12-month low of $57.94 and a 12-month high of $75.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. General Mills had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. General Mills’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $67,144.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,546.50. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $63,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,007.58. This trade represents a 4.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in General Mills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Mills during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 61.5% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.