Post (NYSE:POST) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Post (NYSE:POST) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on POST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Post from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore lowered their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Post from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $127.00 price target on shares of Post in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Post Price Performance

Post stock opened at $111.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.23. Post has a 1 year low of $95.07 and a 1 year high of $119.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.47. Post had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Post will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.31, for a total transaction of $798,226.73. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,434,002.83. This represents a 24.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $160,312.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,230.29. This represents a 12.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of POST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Post by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,812,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,272,000 after acquiring an additional 110,928 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 340,599 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Post during the 2nd quarter worth about $136,310,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Post by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 944,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,004,000 after buying an additional 29,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 880,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,282,000 after buying an additional 8,906 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat drove investor confidence: Post reported $2.13 EPS vs. consensus ~$1.66 and ~10% y/y revenue growth, showing operating momentum that supports upside expectations. Post Q4 results (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions have turned constructive in places — Zacks moved the stock from “strong sell” to “hold” (a signal that downside risk perception eased), and the consensus across brokers remains tilted toward Buy/Moderate Buy with average targets above the current price. Zacks Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context is mixed: revenue beat was modest (revenue essentially in line with estimates) and Post’s valuation metrics (P/E ~20–21, high institutional ownership) mean moves can be magnified by updates or guidance. Post profile (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,983 shares (~$798k) in a recent Form 4 filing — a meaningful reduction of that director’s stake that may prompt short‑term investor caution. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet and margin sensitivity: Post carries leverage (debt/equity ~2.15) and reported slim net margins (~3.8%), leaving the stock vulnerable to input‑cost or volume pressure and making guidance / margin commentary key near‑term catalysts. Financial snapshot

About Post

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.