Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,543 Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,543 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Post worth $9,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POST. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Post during the first quarter worth $377,000. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Post during the first quarter worth about $738,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Post by 1,523.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 11,503 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Post by 1,064.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 25,902 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Post during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Post

In related news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. This represents a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on POST. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Post in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Post in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Post currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.60.

Post Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:POST opened at $91.17 on Friday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.89 and a 52 week high of $117.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Post 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.