General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $35.51 and last traded at $35.4590, with a volume of 5016833 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $43.44.

General Mills Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.39.

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

General Mills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in General Mills during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of General Mills by 139.8% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.71% of the company’s stock.

About General Mills

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.