Hara Capital LLC Invests $769,000 in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Post during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,310,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Post by 35.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,313,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,249,000 after purchasing an additional 340,599 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Post by 773.1% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,231,000 after purchasing an additional 156,184 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 228.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 206,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,515,000 after purchasing an additional 143,711 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Post in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage piece highlights aggressive share repurchases and argues POST may be mispriced relative to fundamentals — buybacks can support EPS and limit downside. Post Holdings: Double-Digit Buybacks And A Mispriced Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Last reported quarter beat EPS estimates and showed ~12% revenue growth year-over-year, which underpins the case for continued operational improvement but leaves room for execution risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet and technical headwinds: elevated leverage (debt-to-equity ~1.97), tight quick ratio (~0.95) and price sitting below its 200-day moving average increase sensitivity to macro shocks and investor risk-off moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Trading volume is lower than average and the stock is nearer its 12-month low than high, suggesting limited buying conviction; investors may be taking profits or awaiting clearer guidance on margins and cash deployment.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Post from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Post from $122.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Post from $125.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In other news, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 1,658 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $160,312.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,230.29. The trade was a 12.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David W. Kemper acquired 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.93 per share, for a total transaction of $176,274.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 31,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,086,949.46. The trade was a 6.06% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Post Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of POST opened at $99.02 on Friday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.07 and a twelve month high of $119.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.54.

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

About Post

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.