Analysts Set Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) PT at $109.00

Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on POST. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Post from $106.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Post from $98.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 price target on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Post Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of POST stock opened at $84.46 on Monday. Post has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $117.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $86.00 and its 200-day moving average is $94.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.37.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 3.48%.The company’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Post will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $23,410,465.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Post by 8,443.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,353,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,302,469 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Post during the 4th quarter valued at $113,660,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the second quarter valued at $54,599,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 278.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 549,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after purchasing an additional 404,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Post by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 415,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,155,000 after buying an additional 212,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Post’s latest quarterly results were mixed: adjusted earnings per share of $1.78 exceeded the $1.70 consensus estimate, but revenue of $1.95 billion missed expectations of $2.02 billion and declined 1.8% year over year. Lower year-over-year EPS also leaves questions about the company’s growth trajectory. Post Holdings earnings and stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $109. The target implies potential upside from recent trading levels, but recent target reductions and the company’s revenue decline may limit near-term enthusiasm.
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman William P. Stiritz sold a combined 384,132 shares of Post Holdings for approximately $32.3 million across transactions on September 1 and 2. The September 1 sale reduced his direct ownership by 27.65%, which may weigh on investor confidence because of its size, although insider sales can also reflect personal liquidity or diversification needs. SEC insider transaction filing

Post Company Profile

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that operates as a holding company for a diverse portfolio of food and beverage brands. The company’s principal activities include the production, marketing and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal, refrigerated and frozen foods, and nutritional beverages. Through its operating segments—Post Consumer Brands, Foodservice, Refrigerated Side Dishes & Bakery, and Active Nutrition—Post Holdings delivers a broad array of products to retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

The Post Consumer Brands segment features a variety of hot and cold cereals under names such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat and Pebbles.