Post (NYSE:POST) Stock Rating Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Post (NYSE:POST) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 price target on Post in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $121.00 price target on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price target on shares of Post in a report on Friday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.00.

Post Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE POST opened at $72.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.51. Post has a one year low of $71.45 and a one year high of $117.28.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.08. Post had a net margin of 3.48% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Post will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other news, Chairman William P. Stiritz sold 277,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $23,410,465.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Post

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Post by 7.5% during the fourth 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. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Post by 5.4% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Post by 7.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Post by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 3,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: No material news about Post Holdings, such as an earnings release, guidance update, acquisition announcement, or analyst action, appears in the supplied articles. Post Holdings stock quote
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains pressured by Post Holdings’ weaker recent operating trends: its latest quarterly revenue declined 1.8% year over year and missed consensus expectations, even though adjusted earnings exceeded estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: The shares remain below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages and are close to the company’s one-year low, signaling continued technical weakness and limited near-term momentum.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and distributes branded and private-label food products. Its portfolio includes ready-to-eat cereals, granola, protein shakes and bars, pet food, eggs and egg products, refrigerated breakfast foods, side dishes, sausage, and other convenience foods.

The company operates through businesses including Post Consumer Brands, which markets cereal and pet food products; Weetabix, a United Kingdom-based cereal business with brands sold in the U.K.