Post (NYSE:POST) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.22 EPS

Post (NYSE:POST) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.22, Briefing.com reports. Post had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Post Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE POST traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.66. 911,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,687. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.65. Post has a 1-year low of $78.85 and a 1-year high of $108.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Post from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Post from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Post from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Post news, Director Thomas C. Erb bought 1,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $104.24 per share, for a total transaction of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,489,434. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas C. Erb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $104.24 per share, for a total transaction of $104,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 33,475 shares in the company, valued at $3,489,434. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Diedre J. Gray sold 7,297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $762,609.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,337,639.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.70% of the company’s stock.

About Post

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.