Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Position in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 1,523.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,503 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Post were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in POST. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Post by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Post during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Post by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Post during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Highlander Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Post in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total value of $649,839.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. This represents a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Post

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 Stock Up 1.1%

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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.39.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 4.01%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research began coverage on Post in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Post in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Post presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.60.

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.