Norges Bank Invests $113.66 Million in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,147,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,660,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Post by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Post by 119.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Post in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Post by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Post from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Post from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Post from $133.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total value of $649,839.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. The trade was a 29.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: No new earnings, guidance, acquisition, or dividend announcement for Post Holdings was included in the latest headlines.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is already trading near its 52-week low and well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which can amplify selling pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles about unrelated political and macro headlines likely add little direct impact to POST’s operating outlook.

Post Stock Performance

Shares of POST opened at $88.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.96. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.85 and a 52-week high of $117.28.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.