Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Post (NYSE:POST) Stock Price

Post (NYSE:POST) had its price objective raised by Piper Sandler from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on POST. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Post from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Post Price Performance

Shares of POST stock opened at $112.23 on Wednesday. Post has a twelve month low of $99.70 and a twelve month high of $125.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.23. Post had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 4.94%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Post will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Post news, Director William P. Stiritz purchased 186,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $109.11 per share, for a total transaction of $20,375,201.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,298,667 shares in the company, valued at $469,027,556.37. This represents a 4.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.97, for a total value of $190,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,767,546.47. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Post

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Post by 5.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,418,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,448,000 after buying an additional 277,786 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Post by 3.2% in the first quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,364,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,494,000 after buying an additional 105,325 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Post by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,201,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,428,000 after buying an additional 70,850 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Post by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,045,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,646,000 after buying an additional 364,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Post by 403.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 986,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,969,000 after buying an additional 790,782 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 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.