Insider Selling: Post (NYSE:POST) Chairman Sells 277,935 Shares of Stock

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Chairman William Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total value of $23,410,465.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Post Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:POST traded up $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $84.43. The company had a trading volume of 652,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,569. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $117.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.75.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 3.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POST. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Post by 8,443.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,353,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,302,469 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Post by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,071,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,678,000 after buying an additional 114,677 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Post in the 4th quarter valued at $113,660,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Post by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 880,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,282,000 after purchasing an additional 8,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new stake in Post in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,599,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post’s most recent quarterly results included adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, ahead of the $1.70 consensus estimate. Management also continues to benefit from the company’s diversified food portfolio and stable consumer demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock remains below its 50-day moving average of $86.19 and well below its 200-day average of $94.75, indicating that the broader trend is still weak despite the latest modest increase. Its beta of 0.37 suggests relatively low sensitivity to overall market swings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Post trades at approximately 15.5 times earnings, which may appear reasonable for a defensive food company, although its debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47 keeps leverage an important consideration for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: A sector read-through came from Campbell’s, which reported a quarterly loss, weaker sales and inflation-related margin pressure while cutting its dividend to reduce debt. Although Campbell’s results do not directly reflect Post Holdings, they highlight ongoing challenges for packaged-food companies, including cost inflation and sluggish volume growth. Campbell’s Posts Q4 Loss and Cuts Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Post from $98.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price target on shares of Post in a report on Friday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Post currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

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.