Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires 6,528 Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 185.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,053 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,528 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Post were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Post by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Post during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Post by 119.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Post in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Post in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BTIG Research started coverage on Post in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Post from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.17.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Value-added egg products and the Nutrish relaunch are potential growth drivers for the quarter, supporting expectations for Post’s diversified food portfolio. POST’s Q3 Earnings on the Horizon: What Investors Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are likely focused on whether Post can convert revenue growth into sustainable margins. In the latest reported quarter, earnings of $1.94 per share exceeded consensus by $0.21, while revenue of $2.04 billion fell short of estimates but increased 4.7% year over year.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher manufacturing costs and weak performance from the 9Lives pet-food brand remain headwinds that could pressure margins and weigh on the company’s upcoming outlook. Post’s elevated debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38 also leaves less flexibility if operating conditions deteriorate.

Post Trading Up 0.2%

POST opened at $90.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.89 and a 12 month high of $117.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.89.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. Post had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 4.01%.The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total transaction of $649,839.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,990.35. This represents a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Post Profile

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that operates as a holding company for a diverse portfolio of food and beverage brands. The company’s principal activities include the production, marketing and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal, refrigerated and frozen foods, and nutritional beverages. Through its operating segments—Post Consumer Brands, Foodservice, Refrigerated Side Dishes & Bakery, and Active Nutrition—Post Holdings delivers a broad array of products to retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

The Post Consumer Brands segment features a variety of hot and cold cereals under names such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat and Pebbles.