Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,543 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Post were worth $9,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of POST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,660,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Post by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 415,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,155,000 after acquiring an additional 212,325 shares in the last quarter. H Squared Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Post in the fourth quarter valued at $19,115,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Post during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,959,000. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 773.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,231,000 after purchasing an additional 156,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Price Performance

Shares of POST stock opened at $91.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.85. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.89 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $90.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.14.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 4.01%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,990.35. The trade was a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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 lowered their price objective on Post from $110.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Post in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.60.

Key Post News

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.

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.