Short Interest in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) Rises By 19.2%

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the January 15th total of 2,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 629,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Post news, Director David W. Kemper sold 8,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.75, for a total value of $989,994.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,291,711.50. This represents a 23.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeff A. Zadoks sold 28,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.96, for a total transaction of $3,475,121.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,908 shares of company stock valued at $5,312,045. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Post during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,991,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Post by 403.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 986,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,969,000 after purchasing an additional 790,782 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Post in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,864,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Post in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,751,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Post by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,405,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,663,000 after buying an additional 244,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of POST traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.45. The company had a trading volume of 462,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,873. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.36. Post has a 52-week low of $99.62 and a 52-week high of $125.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.93.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.24. Post had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 10.40%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Post will post 6.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.