12:01 PM EST, 12/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- General Mills' ( GIS ) return to organic sales growth is expected to pick up speed during 2025, supported by an "increasingly constructive" turnaround for its Blue Buffalo pet foods segment and its North American retail sales continuing to stabilize, analysts at BofA Securities said Friday in a note.

The BofA analysts raised their stock rating for the packaged foods company to buy from neutral and also boosted their price target for General Mills ( GIS ) shares to $80 from $78 per share previously, citing recent initiatives with Blue Buffalo's Life Protection and Wilderness brands.

Soft spots remain, notably with pet treats, the analysts wrote, but overall growth for the segment is outpacing both its competitors and the company as a whole.

General Mills' ( GIS ) baking segment also may be poised for a rebound following a warmer-than-usual autumn and a later Thanksgiving holiday in the US, which have combined to weigh on the company's stock price, as well as its North American retail sales, the analysts said. The company has been successfully using advertising recently to overcome those obstacles, they said, forecasting more improvement during the current quarter and beyond.

The company faces other challenges, they said, including the potential risk posed by President-Elect Trump's choice to run the US Department of Health and Human Services along with consumer efforts to reduce their weight, although the BofA analysts said they "expect (General Mills ( GIS )) management to navigate these headwinds effectively versus peers."

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