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General Mills (GIS) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, General Mills (GIS - Free Report) closed at $58.97, marking a -1.4% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.92%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.51%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from GIS as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, GIS is projected to report earnings of $0.98 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 18.07%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.72 billion, up 13.35% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.48 per share and revenue of $17.34 billion. These totals would mark changes of +8.07% and +2.81%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for GIS should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.65% higher. GIS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at its valuation, GIS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 17.17. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.7, so we one might conclude that GIS is trading at a discount comparatively.

Investors should also note that GIS has a PEG ratio of 2.29 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Food - Miscellaneous industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.48 as of yesterday's close.

The Food - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 28, putting it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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