General Mills Faces Skeptics With Upcoming Q2 Results

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) is facing accelerating headwinds and growing risk to its earnings outlook, an analyst said Monday.

The maker of Cheerios and Hamburger Helper is set to issue fiscal second-quarter results Wednesday to increasingly skeptical investors, with shares down more than 4 percent in the past six months.

The company last month cut its 2015 earnings outlook, citing weak food-industry trends in the United States and slowing growth in emerging markets.

"We worry about earnings risk in the coming quarters, " Deutsche Bank's Eric Katzman said in a note Monday that maintained a Hold rating and $54 target.

Second-quarter earnings will decline about 8 percent from a year earlier to between $0.75 and $0.77 a share, from $0.83 a year earlier, the company said in November.

Analysts on average currently expect earnings of $0.77, on revenue of $4.79 billion.

General Mills last month cut its 2015 earnings growth rate to the "low single-digits" rate, from its previous forecast for mid single-digit rate.

As of last month, General Mills said its market share was off year-to-date by 15 basis points, led by declines in frozen vegetables and dessert mixes.

It aims to cut up to $280 million in costs by 2016.

Shares of General Mills were up 0.56 percent at $51.76.