Norges Bank Buys Shares of 1,250,206 Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,250,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,310,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Post by 119.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Post by 232.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Post during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 131.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Post by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David W. Kemper bought 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.93 per share, with a total value of $176,274.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 31,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,086,949.46. This represents a 6.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on POST shares. Zacks Research cut Post from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Mizuho cut their price target on Post from $122.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Post from $125.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Post from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Post has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.33.

Post Stock Down 1.3%

POST stock opened at $98.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Post Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.34 and a twelve month high of $125.84.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.20. Post had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Post announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, August 29th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Post

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.