Analysts Set Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Target Price at $129.40

Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $129.40.

A number of research firms recently commented on POST. Wall Street Zen upgraded Post from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Post from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Post in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $122.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Post

In related news, Director William P. Stiritz purchased 36,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $109.53 per share, for a total transaction of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares in the company, valued at $474,776,076.51. This represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.97, for a total value of $190,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 43,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,767,546.47. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Post

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Post by 12.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 302,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,169,000 after purchasing an additional 32,995 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Post by 7.3% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $630,448,000 after purchasing an additional 277,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Post by 7.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:POST opened at $114.1660 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Post has a 1 year low of $101.05 and a 1 year high of $125.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.03.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Post had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 4.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Post will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.