Post (NYSE:POST) Chairman William Stiritz Sells 106,197 Shares

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Chairman William Stiritz sold 106,197 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total value of $8,878,069.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 277,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,235,366. This represents a 27.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Post Price Performance

Shares of NYSE POST opened at $84.43 on Friday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $86.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Post from $98.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Post from $116.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $125.00 price objective on Post in a report on Friday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

Institutional Trading of Post

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Post by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Post during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Post by 119.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Post in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Post in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Chairman William P. Stiritz sold a combined 384,132 shares of Post Holdings stock on September 1 and 2 for approximately $32.3 million. The September 1 transaction reduced his direct ownership by 27.65%, which may weigh on investor sentiment because of the size of the sale. SEC insider transaction filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were disclosed in a required SEC filing and do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals; insiders may sell for personal financial or diversification reasons. However, investors will likely monitor whether additional executives sell shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Post’s most recent quarterly results provided mixed signals: adjusted EPS of $1.78 exceeded the $1.70 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.95 billion fell short of the $2.02 billion forecast and declined 1.8% year over year. The company also posted lower EPS than in the comparable period last year, leaving growth concerns unresolved.

Post Company Profile

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that operates as a holding company for a diverse portfolio of food and beverage brands. The company’s principal activities include the production, marketing and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal, refrigerated and frozen foods, and nutritional beverages. Through its operating segments—Post Consumer Brands, Foodservice, Refrigerated Side Dishes & Bakery, and Active Nutrition—Post Holdings delivers a broad array of products to retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

The Post Consumer Brands segment features a variety of hot and cold cereals under names such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat and Pebbles.