Head to Head Comparison: Post (POST) versus Its Peers

Post (NYSE:POST) is one of 328 public companies in the “Food Products” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Post to related businesses based on the strength of its valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Post has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Post’s rivals have a beta of -3.82, suggesting that their average stock price is 482% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Post and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Post	$8.16 billion	$335.70 million	14.63
Post Competitors	$6.86 billion	$703.44 million	-2,425.94

Post has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. Post is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Post and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Post	3.48%	13.22%	3.42%
Post Competitors	-12.89%	-118.90%	-2.05%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Post and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Post	2	2	5	0	2.33
Post Competitors	2458	8309	8387	405	2.34

Post currently has a consensus target price of $103.43, suggesting a potential upside of 29.99%. As a group, “Food Products” companies have a potential upside of 16.36%. Given Post’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Post is more favorable than its rivals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.8% of Post shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.8% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are held by institutional investors. 14.1% of Post shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.4% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Post beats its rivals on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc. is a consumer packaged goods company whose businesses make and sell food and related products. Its portfolio includes breakfast cereals and other grain-based foods, refrigerated products, foodservice ingredients, and pet food. Through Post Consumer Brands, the company offers ready-to-eat and hot cereals, including brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Grape-Nuts, and Malt-O-Meal. Other businesses include Michael Foods, which supplies eggs and other refrigerated foods, and Weetabix, a cereal company with brands sold in the United Kingdom and other markets.