Head to Head Analysis: Post (POST) vs. Its Rivals

Post (NYSE:POST) is one of 328 publicly-traded companies in the “Food Products” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Post to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Post and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Post	3.48%	13.22%	3.42%
Post Competitors	-12.78%	-127.73%	-2.01%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Post and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Post	$8.16 billion	$335.70 million	15.30
Post Competitors	$6.88 billion	$703.44 million	-2,425.84

Post has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. Post is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Post shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.0% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are held by institutional investors. 14.1% of Post shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.0% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Post has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Post’s peers have a beta of -3.81, suggesting that their average stock price is 481% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Post and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Post	2	2	5	0	2.33
Post Competitors	2449	8300	8375	404	2.34

Post presently has a consensus target price of $103.43, indicating a potential upside of 24.27%. As a group, “Food Products” companies have a potential upside of 17.81%. Given Post’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Post is more favorable than its peers.

Summary

Post beats its peers on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

About Post

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. The Weetabix segment primarily manufactures, markets, and distributes branded and private label RTE cereal under Weetabix and Alpen brands; hot cereals and other cereal-based food products; breakfast drinks; protein-based shakes under the UFIT brand, and nutritional snacks, such as muesli. The Foodservice segment produces and distributes egg products primarily under Papetti's and Abbotsford Farms brands, as well as potato products in the foodservice and food ingredient channels. The segment also manufactures certain meat products. The Refrigerated Retail segment produces and distributes side dish, potato, sausage products under Bob Evans, Bob Evans Farms, and Simply Potatoes brands; eggs and egg products under Bob Evans Egg Whites and Egg Beaters brands; and cheese, and other dairy and refrigerated products under Crystal Farms brand. It serves grocery stores, mass merchandise customers, supercenters, club stores, natural/specialty stores, dollar stores, discounters, wholesalers, convenience stores, pet supply retailers, drug store customers, foodservice distributors, and national restaurant chains, as well as sells its products in the military, ecommerce, and foodservice channels. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.