Post (NYSE:POST) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $72.53 and last traded at $73.0750, with a volume of 9181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Negative Sentiment: A threatened U.S. diesel-export ban could intensify a global fuel shortage and sharply increase transportation and distribution costs. That would be a potential margin headwind for Post Holdings, whose portfolio of packaged foods requires significant freight and logistics activity. Posthaste: How Trump’s threatened ban could fan the flames of the world’s fuel shock
• Neutral Sentiment: Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including the risk of disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, add uncertainty to energy and commodity markets. Higher fuel prices could pressure Post’s costs, although a broader geopolitical shock could also lift investor interest in defensive consumer-staples companies. Iran and U.S. talks and Strait of Hormuz tensions

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price target on shares of Post in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Post from $98.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $121.00 target price on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Post has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

Post Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.39.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Post had a net margin of 3.48% and a return on equity of 13.22%. Post’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Post

In other news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $23,410,465.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Post during the second quarter worth about $1,697,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Post in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,229,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Post by 1,064.2% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 25,902 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP raised its position in Post by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 589,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,025,000 after buying an additional 181,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Post by 216.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 14,456 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets branded and private-label food products. Its portfolio includes ready-to-eat cereal, hot cereal, pet food, protein products, peanut butter, and other grocery items sold through retail and e-commerce channels.

The company operates through several businesses, including Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice and Refrigerated Retail. Its brands include Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Grape-Nuts, Raisin Bran, Malt-O-Meal, Weetabix, Alpen, Bob Evans and Simply Potatoes.