Insider Selling: Post (NYSE:POST) Director Sells $649,839.30 in Stock

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Director Gregory Curl sold 6,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total transaction of $649,839.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. This represents a 29.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Post Stock Performance

NYSE:POST opened at $101.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.43. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.13 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.06.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. Post’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Post from $127.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Post from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Post from $133.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in POST. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Post by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Post during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Post by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Post during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Post during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post recently delivered a solid earnings beat, reporting $1.94 EPS versus $1.73 expected, and revenue grew 4.7% year over year. That supports the view that the business is still executing well. Post Holdings stock page
• Positive Sentiment: A recent Zacks note called POST a top-ranked momentum/growth stock, reinforcing bullish analyst and investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market tone is supportive, with major indexes near record highs, which may be helping consumer staples hold up even as the stock trades unevenly. Barchart market article
• Negative Sentiment: The insider sale by Gregory Curl is the clearest near-term negative headline for POST, and investors may also keep an eye on leverage, as the company’s debt-to-equity ratio remains elevated at 2.38. Insider trades article

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.