Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the January 15th total of 2,030,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 629,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on POST shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Post from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Post from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Post from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.14, for a total transaction of $726,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,501 shares in the company, valued at $8,540,491.14. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeff A. Zadoks sold 28,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.96, for a total value of $3,475,121.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,131,848.48. This trade represents a 29.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,908 shares of company stock worth $5,312,045 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Post by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,140,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,359,000 after acquiring an additional 13,272 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Post by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,201,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,428,000 after acquiring an additional 70,850 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Post by 21.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,405,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,663,000 after acquiring an additional 244,221 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Post by 403.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 986,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,969,000 after acquiring an additional 790,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Post during the fourth quarter worth about $108,991,000. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Post Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Post stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $111.45. 462,122 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,873. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Post has a twelve month low of $99.62 and a twelve month high of $125.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.65.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.24. Post had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 4.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Post will post 6.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.