Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on POST shares. Wall Street Zen cut Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Post from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Zacks Research cut Post from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Post in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Post Trading Up 2.2%

Post stock opened at $104.08 on Monday. 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 one year low of $100.44 and a one year high of $125.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.99 and its 200 day moving average is $108.66.

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

Post declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, August 29th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Post

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz bought 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $109.53 per share, with a total value of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,334,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Post by 5.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,418,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,448,000 after buying an additional 277,786 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Post by 3.2% in the first quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,364,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,494,000 after buying an additional 105,325 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 worth $143,249,000 after buying an additional 340,599 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Post in the second quarter worth about $136,310,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Post by 3.2% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 944,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,004,000 after buying an additional 29,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

About Post

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.