Zacks Research Downgrades Post (NYSE:POST) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Post Holdings to “strong sell” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with an average price target of $109.
• Post’s shares opened at $72.62, near their 52-week low of $71.45 and below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating continued technical weakness.
• The company’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations at $1.78 per share, but revenue fell 1.8% year over year to $1.95 billion and missed analyst estimates; Chairman William P. Stiritz also sold about $23.4 million of stock.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Post from $98.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Post from $106.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore set a $121.00 price target on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Post in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Post currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Post Price Performance

Shares of NYSE POST opened at $72.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.43 and a 200-day moving average of $90.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.39. Post has a fifty-two week low of $71.45 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for 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%.Post's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Post will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In related news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $23,410,465.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Post in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Post by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 948 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Post by 22.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,271 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Post by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,056 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Post News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: No material news about Post Holdings, such as an earnings release, guidance update, acquisition announcement, or analyst action, appears in the supplied articles. Post Holdings stock quote
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains pressured by Post Holdings’ weaker recent operating trends: its latest quarterly revenue declined 1.8% year over year and missed consensus expectations, even though adjusted earnings exceeded estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: The shares remain below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages and are close to the company’s one-year low, signaling continued technical weakness and limited near-term momentum.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and distributes branded and private-label food products. Its portfolio includes ready-to-eat cereals, granola, protein shakes and bars, pet food, eggs and egg products, refrigerated breakfast foods, side dishes, sausage, and other convenience foods.

The company operates through businesses including Post Consumer Brands, which markets cereal and pet food products; Weetabix, a United Kingdom-based cereal business with brands sold in the U.K.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.