General Mills price target lowered to $77 from $88 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery lowered the firm’s price target on General Mills to $77 from $88 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm expects General Mills to deliver on its guidance this year and believes its pricing gains likely stay positive as volume declines moderate, but its second half of 2024 top-line growth run-rate is likely much more normalized. Piper also expects its Pet segment to remain an outsized driver of growth long-term, though its capacity constraints and mix shifts likely drive more moderate top-line growth near-term. The firm is lowering its multiple by two turns to a more normalized historical level, despite a better growth outlook than its pre-COVID historical average.