Evercore ISI Boosts Post (NYSE:POST) Price Target to $122.00

Post (NYSE:POST - Free Report) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $118.00 to $122.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on POST. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Post from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Post from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Post from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $112.83.

Post Stock Performance

POST stock traded up $2.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $105.40. 817,360 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 616,075. Post has a 52 week low of $78.85 and a 52 week high of $108.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.65.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. Post had a return on equity of 10.93% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company's revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Post will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Erb purchased 1,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $104.24 per share, for a total transaction of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 33,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,489,434. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Post news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.11, for a total value of $31,233.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 74,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,807,417.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Erb purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $104.24 per share, with a total value of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 33,475 shares in the company, valued at $3,489,434. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Post by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,396,881 shares of the company's stock worth $291,249,000 after buying an additional 385,640 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Post by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,002,286 shares of the company's stock worth $264,382,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Post by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,641,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,764,000 after purchasing an additional 99,115 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Post by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,146 shares of the company's stock worth $140,112,000 after purchasing an additional 209,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in Post by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,095,572 shares of the company's stock worth $96,476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,939 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names.