Post (NYSE:POST) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $86.46 and last traded at $86.7350, with a volume of 307481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.41.

Post News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: No recent Post Holdings earnings, guidance, M&A, or analyst-update headlines were included in the latest news feed, so there is no obvious company-specific catalyst for the stock today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market headlines in the feed were mostly unrelated to Post Holdings, including macro/political news and other companies’ earnings, which likely have limited direct impact on POST.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors may also be viewing POST as a relatively low-beta, defensive consumer food stock, which can attract buying when the market is cautious.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on POST shares. Barclays reduced 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Post from $133.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Post in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Post presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.40.

Post Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $97.37 and its 200 day moving average is $99.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.21. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In related news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total value of $649,839.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,990.35. This trade represents a 29.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Post

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Post by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Post by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Post by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Post by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 10,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Post by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.