Goldman Sachs Analyst Downgrades General Mills

NEW YORK (AP) — General Mills Inc. may see moderating top-line growth and fail to significantly beat its peers, a Goldman Sachs analyst said Wednesday as she downgraded the food maker.

Analyst Judy Hong suggested in a client note that Lorillard Inc., Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and Fortune Brands Inc. might be better sector picks as all three likely have 20 percent upside potential compared with 9 percent for General Mills, based on her price targets.

The Minneapolis-based company, whose brands include Cheerios and Yoplait Yogurt, is not expected to outperform near term partly on difficult third-quarter and fourth-quarter sales growth comparisons, she added.

Hong lowered General Mills to "Neutral" from "Buy" and reaffirmed a $66 price target.

The company's stock fell $1.23, or 2 percent, to $59.07 in morning trading. Over the past year, the shares have traded in a range of $46.37 to $72.01. he'