Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 6,235 Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management reduced its stake in Post Holdings, Inc. by 2.2%, selling 6,235 shares and now holds approximately 0.51% of the company valued at $30.89 million.
• Post Holdings achieved earnings per share of $2.03 for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.67, with revenue slightly up by 1.9% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan, indicating a belief that shares are undervalued.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,235 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.51% of Post worth $30,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Post by 232.1% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Post by 68.4% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its position in Post by 167.2% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Post in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Post by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Post Stock Performance

Shares of POST opened at $104.12 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $107.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 0.51. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.05 and a 12-month high of $125.84.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.36. Post had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 4.62%.The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, August 29th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz bought 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $109.53 per share, for a total transaction of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares in the company, valued at $474,776,076.51. This represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on POST. Zacks Research downgraded Post from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Post from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Post from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Post currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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