General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $43.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. General Mills traded as low as $39.13 and last traded at $38.9770, with a volume of 1518718 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.38.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded General Mills from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $63.00 target price on General Mills and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore set a $45.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $48.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.15, for a total value of $72,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,549.20. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting General Mills

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: General Mills is reviving its La Tiara taco‑shell brand, expanding the product from regional to national distribution and creating more than 100 local jobs — a potential boost to shelf presence, category momentum and long‑term top‑line growth. General Mills Reintroduces Beloved La Tiara Brand
• Neutral Sentiment: GIS will report Q1 results before the market opens this Wednesday; preview pieces outline what to watch (margins, promotional activity, and guidance) but don’t yet move consensus materially — results could spark near‑term volatility. What To Expect From General Mills’s (GIS) Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro calendar risk: the Fed decision and PPI release this week could shift market sentiment and affect consumer spending expectations and input‑cost outlooks for packaged‑food names like General Mills. Fed Meeting, PPI, Micron Earnings: Still to Come This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces highlighting a bullish, value‑oriented thesis on GIS (low P/E, stable cash flow) are circulating — these argue for longer‑term upside but are commentary rather than new company fundamentals. Is General Mills, Inc. (GIS) A Good Stock To Buy Now? InsiderMonkey: Is General Mills A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst previews (Zacks, Yahoo) flag that Q3/Q1 revenue and EPS may decline due to increased promotions, cost pressures and investments — this outlook increases the risk of an earnings miss or weaker guidance that would push the stock lower. GIS Q3 Earnings on the Horizon: Essential Insights for Investors (Yahoo) Zacks: GIS Q3 Earnings on the Horizon
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target to $43 and set an “equal weight” rating, signaling more conservative near‑term expectations from the sell‑side; analyst downgrades or PT cuts tend to weigh on sentiment ahead of earnings. Benzinga: Barclays Lowers Price Target

Institutional Trading of General Mills

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in General Mills during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Mills by 139.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of General Mills in the third quarter worth $28,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of -0.05.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 17th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.07. General Mills had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 13.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. Analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 52.47%.

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.