Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on POST shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Post from $106.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 target price on shares of Post in a report on Monday, July 27th. Evercore set a $121.00 price target on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Key Stories Impacting Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The only direct item was a market-data link for Post Holdings, which provided no new operational, financial, or strategic information. Post Holdings market data
• Neutral Sentiment: Post’s most recent reported quarter showed adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, above the $1.70 consensus estimate, but revenue of $1.95 billion missed expectations of $2.02 billion and declined 1.8% year over year. EPS also fell from $2.03 in the prior-year quarter.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns remain focused on softer revenue, lower year-over-year earnings, and elevated leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. Shares are trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages and close to the 12-month low, indicating continued market caution.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Post news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $23,410,465.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in POST. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Post by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Post during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Post by 22.8% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Price Performance

Post stock opened at $72.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.39. Post has a one year low of $71.45 and a one year high of $117.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.08. The business 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Post will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Post

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.