Barclays Boosts Post (NYSE:POST) Price Target to $120.00

Post (NYSE:POST) had its target price upped by Barclays from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Post from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Post currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $113.67.

Post Stock Performance

Shares of POST opened at $105.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Post has a one year low of $78.85 and a one year high of $108.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.10 and a 200-day moving average of $95.66. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.65.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.93%. The business’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Post will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Diedre J. Gray sold 7,297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $762,609.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,337,639.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Post news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.11, for a total transaction of $31,233.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 74,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,807,417.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Diedre J. Gray sold 7,297 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $762,609.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,337,639.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POST. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Post by 12.8% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,396,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,249,000 after buying an additional 385,640 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Post by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,002,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,382,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Post during the 4th quarter valued at $19,598,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Post by 14.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,112,000 after acquiring an additional 209,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Post by 347.8% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 256,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,630,000 after acquiring an additional 199,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

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.