Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on POST. Wall Street Zen lowered Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $121.00 target price on Post in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price objective on Post in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 price target on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market coverage provides only stock-quote references for Post Holdings, including Morningstar Post Holdings quote and Yahoo Finance Post Holdings quote; neither reports new operating results, analyst actions, acquisitions, or guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: The latest reported quarter remains the key fundamental reference: Post Holdings delivered adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, above the $1.70 consensus, but revenue of $1.95 billion fell short of the $2.02 billion estimate and declined 1.8% year over year. EPS also decreased from $2.03 in the prior-year period.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to face mixed signals: the company’s earnings beat was offset by weaker sales, a low 3.48% net margin, and elevated leverage, with debt-to-equity of 2.47. The shares also remain below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating continued technical pressure.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Post by 8,443.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,353,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,233,000 after buying an additional 4,302,469 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Post in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,660,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in shares of Post during the second quarter worth about $54,599,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Post by 278.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 549,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after purchasing an additional 404,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Post by 104.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 415,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,155,000 after buying an additional 212,325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:POST opened at $85.25 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.49 and its 200 day moving average is $95.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. Post has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $117.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.40.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 3.48%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Post will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Post Company Profile

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that operates as a holding company for a diverse portfolio of food and beverage brands. The company’s principal activities include the production, marketing and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal, refrigerated and frozen foods, and nutritional beverages. Through its operating segments—Post Consumer Brands, Foodservice, Refrigerated Side Dishes & Bakery, and Active Nutrition—Post Holdings delivers a broad array of products to retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

The Post Consumer Brands segment features a variety of hot and cold cereals under names such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat and Pebbles.