Stifel Nicolaus Raises Post (NYSE:POST) Price Target to $120.00

Post (NYSE:POST) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $115.00 to $120.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 14.50% from the company’s previous close.

POST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Post from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Post from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Post presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.83.

Post Price Performance

NYSE POST traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $104.80. 409,180 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 611,078. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.04 and a 200-day moving average of $95.33. Post has a one year low of $78.85 and a one year high of $108.17. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Post news, Director Thomas C. Erb acquired 1,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $104.24 per share, with a total value of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 33,475 shares in the company, valued at $3,489,434. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas C. Erb bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $104.24 per share, with a total value of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 33,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,489,434. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Diedre J. Gray sold 7,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $762,609.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 51,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,337,639.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Post by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Post by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Post by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 44,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.