Post Holdings, Inc. $POST Position Reduced by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its Post Holdings stake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 55,597 shares and ending with 146,784 shares valued at about $14.5 million.
• Post reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on May 7, posting EPS of $1.94 versus estimates of $1.73, though revenue of $2.04 billion fell slightly short of expectations.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock, with several recent rating changes and price-target cuts, while the consensus rating is still “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $119.40.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,784 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,597 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.31% of Post worth $14,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Post by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,957,198 shares of the company's stock worth $292,912,000 after purchasing an additional 144,775 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Post in the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,660,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Post by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 880,993 shares of the company's stock worth $87,282,000 after buying an additional 8,906 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Post by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 415,493 shares of the company's stock worth $41,155,000 after buying an additional 212,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Post by 55.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 321,840 shares of the company's stock worth $34,476,000 after buying an additional 115,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Post Trading Up 0.3%

Post stock opened at $93.40 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $98.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.47. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.85 and a 12 month high of $117.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.38.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Post's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Post

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total transaction of $649,839.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,990.35. The trade was a 29.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: No fresh company-specific catalyst appeared in the latest headlines, so POST is likely moving on residual reaction to its recent earnings beat and general market sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Post’s prior quarter showed better-than-expected earnings, which may be helping support the stock despite revenue coming in slightly below consensus.
• Neutral Sentiment: With the shares still below key moving averages, investors may be waiting for either stronger guidance or another operational catalyst before re-rating the stock higher.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Post from $127.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Post from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Post from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Post from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.40.

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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