Post (NYSE:POST) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reaffirmed Post's stock rating as "overweight" but reduced its price target from $141.00 to $122.00, suggesting an upside of 11.13% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have also adjusted their ratings, with Wells Fargo lowering its target to $117.00 and Mizuho recommending an "outperform" with a target of $127.00.
• Post recently reported an EPS of $2.03, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its quarterly revenue of $1.98 billion also surpassed forecasts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.53% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on POST. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Post from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Post from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Post from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.40.

Post Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE POST traded up $1.5450 on Wednesday, reaching $111.3850. 56,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 633,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.49. Post has a fifty-two week low of $101.05 and a fifty-two week high of $125.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.25 and a 200 day moving average of $110.93.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.80%. Post's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Post will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Post

In other news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.97, for a total transaction of $190,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 43,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,767,546.47. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 186,740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $109.11 per share, for a total transaction of $20,375,201.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,298,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,027,556.37. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Post by 200.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Post by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 302,241 shares of the company's stock worth $35,169,000 after acquiring an additional 32,995 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Post by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company's stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. 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 valued at $630,448,000 after purchasing an additional 277,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company's stock.

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.