AXQ Capital LP Takes Position in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Post by 232.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Post during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Post by 131.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Post by 39.0% in the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Post by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:POST opened at $97.12 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.60. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.49.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.80%. Post’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Post announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, August 29th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on POST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Post in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Post from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

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.