Bradly Harper Sells 1,658 Shares of Post (NYSE:POST) Stock

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) SVP Bradly Harper sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $160,312.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,230.29. This trade represents a 12.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Post Stock Up 1.2%

Post stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $97.19. 787,304 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 669,014. Post Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.07 and a twelve month high of $125.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day moving average of $107.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.46.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Post had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 4.11%.Post’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Post announced that its board has authorized a share 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. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Post by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,418,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,448,000 after acquiring an additional 277,786 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Post by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,364,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,494,000 after purchasing an additional 105,325 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Post by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,812,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,272,000 after purchasing an additional 110,928 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Post by 35.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,313,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,249,000 after buying an additional 340,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the second quarter valued at about $136,310,000. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Post from $125.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Post from $131.00 to $129.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Post in a report on Monday, December 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.33.

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.