Shares of General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) came under pressure in early trading on Thursday, despite the company reporting upbeat fiscal first-quarter earnings.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

  • TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow reiterated a Hold rating, while raising the price target from $32 to $33.
  • RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $45.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

TD Cowen: General Mills’ organic sales decline of 0.4% was better than consensus of a 1.9% contraction, Moskow said in a note. He added that the decline would have been less steep, closer to 0.2%, "after adjusting for inventory shifts and accounting changes in North American Retail and Pet."

Both the North America Food Service and International divisions delivered upside to TD Cowen’s estimates, the analyst stated.

While highlighting "improved" market share trends in most of their priority categories in North American Retail, management acknowledged that the company is yet to "fully regain their competitive footing," he further noted.

Moskow added that management highlighted the following key initiatives for the rest of the year:

  • New products and renovation on Life Protection Formula, Totino’s, and Annie’s
  • Launch of Nature Pals high-fiber fruit snacks

"That said, they were careful not to promise sequential improvement in 2Q retail growth or market share, which remains down in most of their categories YOY," he further wrote.

RBC Capital Markets: General Mills delivered a positive quarter, with North America Retail’s organic sales down by 3% versus expectations of 3.4%, Modi said. There was a 2-point sequential improvement in NAR’s retail sales growth, while its dollar share trends improved in most of the priority categories, he added.

In the packaged food segment, General Mills’ results may be considered good, although "there is more work to be done," the analyst stated.

The first-quarter results increase the odds of General Mills delivering on its fiscal 2027 guidance, "which we believe would be enough to move the stock upwards after multiple downward guidance revisions from FY’24 to FY’26," he further wrote.

GIS Stock Price Activity: General Mills shares are trading lower by 1.54% at $35.27 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Also: General Mills Warns Inflation Could Hit 6%, and Price Hikes Are Still on the Table

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