First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,426 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,117 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.32% of Post worth $14,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Post during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Post by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,071,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,678,000 after acquiring an additional 114,677 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Post by 0.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 86,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,502,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Post in the first quarter worth approximately $416,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Post during the first quarter worth $316,000. 94.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Post Price Performance

POST opened at $93.17 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $90.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.04. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.89 and a 12-month high of $117.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.39.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 4.01%.Post's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Post

In related news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. The trade was a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on POST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Post in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Post from $110.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Post from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.17.

Trending Headlines about Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Post’s latest reported quarter showed mixed results: earnings per share of $1.94 exceeded the $1.73 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.04 billion fell short of expectations of $2.08 billion. Revenue still increased 4.7% year over year, but the sales miss may limit enthusiasm for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: The company carries elevated leverage, with debt-to-equity of 2.38. That could make investors more sensitive to interest rates and slower economic growth, particularly after data showed U.S. second-quarter growth slowed to 1.5% while inflation remained elevated. U.S. economy growth and inflation report
• Negative Sentiment: Post Holdings’ shares remain below their 200-day moving average, indicating continued technical weakness and potentially encouraging short-term selling.

Post Company 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.

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