Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management more than doubled its stake in Post Holdings in the fourth quarter, increasing its holdings by 104% to 242,101 shares worth about $24 million.
• Analyst sentiment on POST remains mixed but constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $124.50, though one recent downgrade and several lower price targets were noted.
• Post reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $1.94 beating estimates, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year; however, a company director also sold a portion of shares in May.

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 104.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,101 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,423 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.50% of Post worth $23,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Post by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its position in Post by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 10,020 shares of the company's stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Post by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. raised its position in Post by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. now owns 25,109 shares of the company's stock worth $2,487,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on POST. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Post from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Post from $133.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Post from $127.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Post in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Post from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.50.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Markets are focused on escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, with reports of fresh strikes and conflicting signals on peace talks. That kind of geopolitical uncertainty can weigh on consumer and defensive names like Post Holdings by increasing risk aversion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Oil prices have been moving on the Iran headlines as traders watch for any disruption to shipping and energy supplies. Higher energy and input-cost expectations can be a modest headwind for packaged food companies if sustained. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other Post news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total transaction of $649,839.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,990.35. This trade represents a 29.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 14.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Post Price Performance

Post stock opened at $95.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.43. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.13 and a 52 week high of $117.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $100.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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