TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

Equities researchers at TD Cowen began coverage on shares of General Mills (NYSE:GIS) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “market perform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus upgraded shares of General Mills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of General Mills from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.79.

General Mills Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of GIS stock opened at $66.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.42 and a 200-day moving average of $79.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. General Mills has a 12-month low of $64.70 and a 12-month high of $90.89. The company has a market capitalization of $38.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.24.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 28th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.05. General Mills had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Mills will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in General Mills by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in General Mills by 45.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its holdings in General Mills by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,955,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,935,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in General Mills by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 75.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Mills Company Profile

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 salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.