Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New $1.80 Million Investment in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 16,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,804,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Post in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,310,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Post during the first quarter worth $34,528,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Post by 5.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,418,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,448,000 after purchasing an additional 277,786 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Post by 26.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 915,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,526,000 after purchasing an additional 191,081 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Post by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,506,000 after acquiring an additional 109,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Post from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Post in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Post from $125.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered Post from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Post from $122.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In related news, Director David W. Kemper bought 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.93 per share, with a total value of $176,274.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,086,949.46. This trade represents a 6.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Post Price Performance

Shares of NYSE POST opened at $96.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.94 and a fifty-two week high of $125.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.46.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.11% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Post declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, August 29th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Post

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.