General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $36.76 and last traded at $37.1360, with a volume of 1441540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Mills from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $44.61.

General Mills Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.61. The company has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of -0.05.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Mills’s payout ratio is currently 59.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GIS. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in General Mills by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 4.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group lifted its position in General Mills by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

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.