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

Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) was the target 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 trading volume, of 629,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Post Stock Performance

POST traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $111.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,873. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.56 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.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Post will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POST has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Post from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Post from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Post from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Post currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,540,491.14. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.09, for a total value of $120,090.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,347,409.80. This represents a 8.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,908 shares of company stock worth $5,312,045 over the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Post

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Post by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 102,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,827,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Post by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,538,000 after acquiring an additional 9,711 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Post in the 4th quarter worth approximately $946,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Post in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,480,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Post by 901.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 179,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,745,000 after acquiring an additional 161,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Company 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.