Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $130.50.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on POST. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Post from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Post from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th.

Post Price Performance

Post stock traded down $3.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.58. The stock had a trading volume of 661,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,003. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Post has a 1-year low of $102.13 and a 1-year high of $125.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $111.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.08.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.23. Post had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Post will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.97, for a total value of $190,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,767,546.47. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 186,740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $109.11 per share, with a total value of $20,375,201.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,298,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $469,027,556.37. This represents a 4.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Post during the 4th quarter valued at $108,991,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Post by 403.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 986,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,969,000 after acquiring an additional 790,782 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Post by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,045,306 shares of the company's stock worth $119,646,000 after acquiring an additional 364,006 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Post in the fourth quarter worth about $36,751,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Post in the first quarter valued at about $34,528,000. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Post Company Profile

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.