Deutsche Bank Reiterates Buy Rating on General Mills Ahead of Earnings (GIS)

Deutsche Bank is out with a research report this morning, where its analysts reiterated their Buy rating on shares of General Mills GIS ahead of its fiscal Q4 earnings report; they have a $42.00 price target on the stock. The Deutsche Bank analysts said, “We affirm our BUY opinion based on leading share in numerous U.S. center-of-the-store categories, well executed new products, Long Term productivity efforts, a solid balance sheet, good cash flow, and a still reasonable valuation. Lastly we believe the market is undervaluing its International Joint Ventures by as much as $2-3 per share.” They also noted, “General Mills reports F4Q10 results Tues., June 29th. We expect operating EPS (excl. 1-time charges) of $0.47 vs. consensus of $0.42 (which incl. charges), on a 2% sales decline. While the bar is high, we believe General Mills can jump it. Share gains and cost savings should allow for competitive F2011 growth targets when investors attend an analyst day on 7/1/10. We think General Mills is well positioned to manage through today’s market (i.e. high-low sales, new products, retailer relations).”