Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Receives $131.20 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• Post Holdings, Inc. has received an average analyst recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with one hold rating and four buy ratings from five research firms covering the stock.
• The stock's average target price among analysts is $131.20, and shares are currently trading at approximately $105.09 with a 12-month high of $125.84.
• Insider activity includes the purchase of 36,000 shares by Director William P. Stiritz at an average cost of $109.53 per share, reflecting confidence in the company’s future performance.

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.20.

POST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Post from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Post from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Post from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity at Post

In other Post news, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 36,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $109.53 per share, for a total transaction of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Post in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $136,310,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Post by 35.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,313,852 shares of the company's stock worth $143,249,000 after buying an additional 340,599 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Post in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,528,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Post by 5.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,418,085 shares of the company's stock worth $630,448,000 after acquiring an additional 277,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Post by 26.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 915,487 shares of the company's stock worth $106,526,000 after buying an additional 191,081 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Post Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:POST traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $104.22. 277,707 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,365. The firm's 50-day moving average is $107.54 and its 200 day moving average is $110.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.51. Post has a 1-year low of $101.05 and a 1-year high of $125.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Post had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 4.62%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Post will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Post announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, August 29th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.