Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Shares in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in POST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Post during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,991,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Post during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,751,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Post during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,576,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Post by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 447,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,169,000 after purchasing an additional 100,263 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Post news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $572,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 50,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,364.50. This represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.59, for a total transaction of $229,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,631.19. The trade was a 18.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,157 shares of company stock worth $3,139,361 in the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on POST shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Post from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Post from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.20.

Post Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:POST opened at $111.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 0.50. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.70 and a 52 week high of $125.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.65.

Post (NYSE:POST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Post Profile

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.