Post (NYSE:POST) Stock Price Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Post shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $77.24 versus the $78.39 average, while the 200-day average stood at $89.03.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally positive, with five Buy, two Hold, and two Sell ratings. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $103.43, despite several recent target cuts.
• Post beat quarterly EPS expectations ($1.78 versus $1.70) but missed on revenue, which declined 1.8% year over year. Its CFO also assumed an interim accounting leadership role, introducing some finance oversight uncertainty.

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.39 and traded as low as $77.24. Post shares last traded at $78.7080, with a volume of 679,280 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Post disclosed that its senior vice president and chief financial officer has assumed an interim accounting leadership role. The announcement indicates a temporary change in finance oversight but provided no details suggesting an immediate effect on operations or financial results. Post Holdings CFO Assumes Interim Accounting Leadership Role
• Negative Sentiment: The interim accounting assignment introduces some leadership-transition uncertainty and could draw investor attention to internal finance and reporting continuity. It is a potential risk, although the announcement did not identify an accounting issue or restatement.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on POST shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Post from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Post from $125.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Post in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $121.00 price target on Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.43.

Post Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.03.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. Post had a net margin of 3.48% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Post news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total value of $23,410,465.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 14.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Post by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,071,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,678,000 after acquiring an additional 114,677 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Post in the second quarter valued at $54,599,000. Junto Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 44.6% in the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 589,457 shares of the company's stock worth $52,025,000 after buying an additional 181,849 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Post by 278.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 549,985 shares of the company's stock worth $48,542,000 after purchasing an additional 404,775 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Post by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 462,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,736,000 after acquiring an additional 135,236 shares in the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Post Company Profile

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and distributes branded and private-label food products. Its portfolio includes ready-to-eat cereals, granola, protein shakes and bars, pet food, eggs and egg products, refrigerated breakfast foods, side dishes, sausage, and other convenience foods.

The company operates through businesses including Post Consumer Brands, which markets cereal and pet food products; Weetabix, a United Kingdom-based cereal business with brands sold in the U.K.

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