General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Share Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.08 and traded as high as $36.58. General Mills shares last traded at $35.8890, with a volume of 12,677,176 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded General Mills from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on General Mills from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore set a $38.00 price target on General Mills in a report on Monday, September 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $36.59.

General Mills Stock Up 5.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.46.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. General Mills had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 21.86%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 13th. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently -146.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GIS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills during the second quarter worth about $2,181,608,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in General Mills in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,298,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in General Mills in the second quarter valued at approximately $126,097,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in General Mills in the second quarter valued at approximately $121,707,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,889,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc is a global food company that manufactures and markets branded consumer foods. Its portfolio includes cereal, snack foods, refrigerated and baking products, yogurt, soup, meals, and pet food. The company’s brands include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Old El Paso, Progresso, Annie’s, Totino’s, Häagen-Dazs, and Blue Buffalo.

General Mills sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, e-commerce channels, restaurants, and other foodservice outlets.