Hancock Whitney Corp Makes New Investment in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp has acquired a new stake in Post Holdings, Inc., purchasing 3,025 shares valued at approximately $352,000.
• Institutional investors dominate the share ownership of Post Holdings, holding 94.85% of the stock, with multiple firms like Brooklyn Investment Group and MassMutual Private Wealth significantly increasing their stakes.
• Post Holdings recently reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a stock repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in POST. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 232.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Post by 68.4% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 167.2% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Post by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 112.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Post Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Post stock traded up $1.22 on Thursday, reaching $105.95. The stock had a trading volume of 373,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,483. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.05 and a 1 year high of $125.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. Post had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Post declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, August 29th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 36,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $109.53 per share, with a total value of $3,943,080.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on POST shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Post from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Post from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Post from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.20.

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.