London Co. of Virginia Sells 109,995 Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia trimmed its Post Holdings stake by 6.9% in Q1, selling 109,995 shares and ending with 1,476,638 shares valued at about $146 million.
• Post Holdings reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share, beating estimates by $0.21, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $2.04 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $113.60, even as several firms recently lowered their targets on the stock.

London Co. of Virginia reduced its stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,476,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 109,995 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned 3.26% of Post worth $145,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in POST. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in Post during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,989,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the fourth quarter worth $6,867,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Post by 145.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 44,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 26,400 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Post during the 1st quarter valued at $5,229,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Post by 104.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 242,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,980,000 after buying an additional 123,423 shares in the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Post Stock Performance

NYSE:POST opened at $91.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $90.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.89 and a 1 year high of $117.28.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Post's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Post News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.94, topping analyst expectations of $1.73, while revenue grew 4.7% year over year, signaling solid underlying demand and better-than-expected profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s revenue came in slightly below estimates, and margins remain something investors may continue to monitor, but the latest results still pointed to resilient operating performance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts currently expect Post Holdings to generate $7.57 in EPS for the full year, which suggests the market may be focusing on execution versus guidance rather than a major change in the outlook.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on POST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Post in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Post from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Post from $110.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.60.

Insider Activity at Post

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of Post stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.05% of the company's stock.

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.

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