Post (NYSE:POST) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Post's stock rating was dropped from "buy" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, following similar downgrades from Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research.
• The stock has a current price target consensus of $130.80, with four analysts rating it as a "Buy" and three as a "Hold."
• Institutional investors own 94.85% of Post, with recent notable increases in holdings from firms like Voya Investment Management.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Post in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Post from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Post from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Post from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.80.

Post Trading Up 2.0%

POST opened at $108.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Post has a 12 month low of $101.05 and a 12 month high of $125.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.77.

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

Post declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, August 29th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 36,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $109.53 per share, with a total value of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,334,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Post

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Post by 37.1% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 27,775 shares of the company's stock worth $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 7,519 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Post by 10.3% during the second quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the company's stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Post by 13.4% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 46,623 shares of the company's stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 5,492 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Post by 79.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 21,227 shares of the company's stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 9,391 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Post by 6.0% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,409 shares of the company's stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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