Latest news with #KraftHeinz
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Could This Be a Sign Warren Buffett May Be Unloading 1 of His Biggest Stock Holdings?
Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), invests in many top blue chip stocks. They are mainly centered around financial services, consumer goods, and oil and gas. And while there may be some changes in smaller positions within Berkshire's holdings, the top 10 stocks don't normally see a lot of turnover. But with Buffett stepping down as CEO this year, there could be some more significant changes on the way. And there's a move that Berkshire recently made that stood out to me, one that could signify the end of its position in one of its largest holdings: Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC). Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Berkshire no longer to have a presence on Kraft's board In a press release dated May 20, Kraft announced that its board and leadership team are looking at "potential strategic transactions to unlock shareholder value." It also noted that Berkshire Hathaway's two representatives on the board -- Timothy Kenesey and Alicia Knapp -- would be stepping down. Thus, at a critical time in Kraft's business, when the company is struggling to grow (its sales were down 3% last year) and possibly looking at making significant changes, Berkshire appears to be distancing itself from the consumer goods company. It's not hard to see why Kraft may need to make a move. Its top line has struggled to grow in recent years, and as the government focuses on healthier eating options and people are using GLP-1 weight loss drugs to shed pounds and curb their appetites, the company's growth prospects aren't looking so great. Could Berkshire dump shares of Kraft? If Berkshire isn't involved in these critical strategic decisions, the writing may be on the wall for its investment in Kraft. For years, it hasn't made a whole lot of sense as to why Kraft remains one of Berkshire's top holdings. It makes up just over 3% of Berkshire's overall portfolio, making it the eighth-largest position, behind Occidental Petroleum, Moody's, and Chevron. Kraft pays a dividend, which Buffett likes, but it has been a bad investment over the years, even despite the payout. In five years, the stock has declined by 12% and when you include its dividend, the total return is only 10%. That is a pitiful performance when you compare it against the S&P 500, which has more than doubled in value over that time frame when including dividends. For a forward-looking investor such as Buffett, the future doesn't look all that promising for Kraft either, whose iconic Mac & Cheese brand has become associated with unhealthy eating habits due to its processed ingredients and high sodium. Given all the question marks around the business, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Berkshire finally exit its position in Kraft. Berkshire and 3G Capital (which has since sold its stake) bought Heinz back in 2013, a few years before it merged with Kraft. Is there any reason to invest in Kraft today? If Berkshire sells its stake in Kraft, that could send the stock into a deeper free fall. But regardless of whether that happens or not, this is a stock that you may be better off avoiding. Simply because an investment is or isn't in Buffett's portfolio shouldn't determine whether you buy or sell it. Ultimately, it's important to make your own investment decisions based on your own goals and objectives, as they will be different from Buffett's and Berkshire's. And if you're looking at where Kraft's business is heading, the outlook doesn't look terribly promising. Even the stock's 6% yield may not prove to be safe in the long run, especially if its sales and profits decline. Without more compelling growth prospects, this stock may continue to be a bad buy for the foreseeable future. Should you invest $1,000 in Kraft Heinz right now? Before you buy stock in Kraft Heinz, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Kraft Heinz wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $656,825!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $865,550!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, and Moody's. The Motley Fool recommends Kraft Heinz and Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump deals a ‘big blow' to clean heat with Energy Department cuts
Last week, the Trump administration canceled $3.7 billion in federal funding for two dozen green industrial projects that the Department of Energy claimed 'failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable, and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.' More than a quarter of that spending would have gone to 11 projects designed to cut planet-warming pollution from generating the heat used in factories — one of the trickiest decarbonization challenges to solve. 'This is a really, really significant setback for clean heat in the U.S.,' said Brad Townsend, the vice president of policy and outreach at the think tank Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). The wide-ranging projects included installing industrial heat pumps at up to 10 plants where giant Kraft Heinz Co. produces its foodstuffs, building an electric boiler at one of plumbing-fixture manufacturer Kohler Co.'s Arizona factories, and adding a heat battery to Eastman Chemical Co.'s facility in Texas. Distributed under the Industrial Demonstrations Program at the Energy Department's now-embattled Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the funding promised to bolster the manufacturing sector with a major investment in technologies meant to give American companies an edge in global markets. Groups such as C2ES and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimated the federal support would generate hundreds of thousands of jobs in both direct construction and operations and indirect hiring at real estate firms, restaurants, and retailers near the industrial sites. In addition, federal researchers expected to gather information through the projects that could be used broadly throughout U.S. industry to improve output and bring down energy costs. 'The data and lessons learned in de-risking this technology would then translate into follow-up investment in the private sector,' said Marcela Mulholland, a former official at the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations who now leads advocacy at the nonpartisan climate group Clean Tomorrow. 'If you were in a technology area covered by OCED, you needed public investment to scale,' she added. 'Something in the proverbial 'valley of death' made it difficult for the private sector to advance the technology on its own.' With the funding, U.S. industry had the chance to develop new approaches that could produce greener — and cheaper — materials, giving American manufacturers an edge over Asian or European rivals as corporate and national carbon-cutting policies put a premium on products made with less emissions. Absent that, Mulholland said, U.S. companies risk falling behind competitors who benefit from lower-cost labor and easily accessible components from nearby industrial clusters, like those in Vietnam, China, or Germany. 'It's hard to overstate the scale of the loss,' Mulholland said. Already, a handful of companies are considering shifting production overseas in the wake of the funding cuts, according to two sources who have directly spoken to leaders of firms that lost federal funding. The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the plans. 'When these projects don't go forward, we're going to see challenges for the companies from a profitability perspective and from a global competitiveness perspective,' said Richard Hart, industry director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. 'What happens then is other countries and other companies will step in to meet those demands.' In the long term, he added, the cuts erode the value of a federal contract. 'When the U.S. government signs a contract with you, it's reasonable to assume that that contract is gold and that you can use that contract to make plans as a company that … you can explain to investors, to employees, and to the full group of stakeholders around your facilities,' Hart said. 'The loss of trust that comes from canceling those contracts is likely to be pervasive. That's very sad.' Part of the problem is that the contracts were cost-share agreements, which traditionally give the federal government the right to exit the deals without any legal penalty. In theory, OCED could have structured the federal contracts differently through a category known plainly as 'Other Transactions.' The Department of Commerce, for example, issued money from the CHIPS and Science Act to semiconductor companies through such 'other transactions' that lack the same off-ramps for the government. But the Commerce Department did so under the advice of a legal memo from its general counsel. By contrast, the Energy Department 'is way, way behind' on adopting alternative contract structures when disbursing money, according to a former OCED official who spoke on condition of anonymity. As a result, the agency stuck to the financing mechanisms with which it was familiar — such as cost-share agreements. Internally, the Trump administration said the cuts were justified in part because the companies involved were well funded and could manage the investments themselves, the official said. 'But I don't think that's the case. They need a government incentive to make the technological changes they were trying to do,' the former OCED official said. 'I would bet less than half of them keep going by themselves,' the official added. 'It's a big blow.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kraft Heinz (KHC) Stock Moves -0.26%: What You Should Know
Kraft Heinz (KHC) ended the recent trading session at $26.63, demonstrating a -0.26% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.53%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.26%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.83%. The processed food company with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago's stock has dropped by 5.42% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 1.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.17%. The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Kraft Heinz in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Kraft Heinz to post earnings of $0.64 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 17.95%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $6.26 billion, indicating a 3.34% downward movement from the same quarter last year. For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $2.57 per share and a revenue of $24.97 billion, signifying shifts of -16.01% and -3.38%, respectively, from the last year. Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Kraft Heinz. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% higher. Kraft Heinz currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). In terms of valuation, Kraft Heinz is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.38. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 15.84. Meanwhile, KHC's PEG ratio is currently 3.12. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Food - Miscellaneous industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.62 as trading concluded yesterday. The Food - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, putting it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lowville Kraft Plant sees $22 million in funding withdrawn
LOWVILLE, N.Y. (WWTI) – The Lowville Kraft plant will be losing out in $22 million funding after cuts made by the federal government. In an announcement from United States Senator Charles Schumer's office, President Donald Trump's administration 'abruptly rescinded a $170 million Department of Energy grant for Kraft-Heinz. Sweet Victory: Kraft Heinz in Lowville reclaims largest cheesecake record The cuts were earmarked for clean energy and decarbonization projects across the nation under former President Joe Biden. Lowville's plant was slated to use the money to transition the Kraft-Heinz plant in Lowville off of fossil fuels. On Friday, the federal government officially withdrew $3.7 billion in funding for 24 projects spanning the nation. This includes $170 million that was supposed to be aside for the Kraft-Heinz company to decarbonize 10 production facilities. Lowville was included on that list of plants. This federal funding was promised to Kraft-Heinz to modernize the Lowville factory and support North Country jobs. Taking away this investment is an unjust blow to Lewis County's biggest employer. United States Senator Charles Schumer Schumer went onto add 'It is a slap in the face by the Trump administration to the North Country to eliminate funding that is critical to the success of this major employer. I urge Congresswoman Stefanik to join me in denouncing the Trump administration's callous cancellation of this grant, knowing that this action directly hurts local jobs, undercuts the success of one of the North Country's most beloved employers, and undermines upgrades meant to help a factory that so many of our Upstate dairy farmers rely on.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Department of Energy cancels nearly $4B in energy awards
The Big Story The Trump administration announced Friday it has canceled nearly $4 billion in awards aimed at the decarbonizing industry that were issued under the Biden administration. © Greg Nash A press release described the $3.7 billion in canceled funding as mostly carbon capture projects — where technology is used to cut planet-warming emissions from fossil fuel plants — and 'decarbonization initiatives.' It also notes that of the 24 awards it canceled, 16 of them were issued between Election Day and Trump's inauguration. 'While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a written statement Friday. In addition to carbon capture, projects that were canceled include efforts to advance climate-friendly cement production, getting greener furnaces at glass and pipe companies and an effort to cut emissions at various plants used by food company Kraft Heinz. Read more at Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: Trump announces plan to double steel tariffs President Trump announced Friday his administration would be doubling tariffs on steel imports from 25 percent to 50 percent during a visit to Pennsylvania focused on boosting the U.S. steel industry. Swiss village buried in glacier collapse A village in Switzerland was buried in a recent glacier collapse, according to Swiss officials. Canadian wildfire smoke to affect air quality, visibility in parts of US: What to know Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada is expected to cast a haze over the skies — and diminish air quality — in parts of the U.S. over the coming days. What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Oil Companies Are Sued Over Death of Woman in 2021 Heat Wave (The New York Times) Extreme Heat Waves Are Longer and Hitting the Tropics Hardest (Bloomberg) On Our Radar Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Wednesday Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is slated to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is slated to testify before the House Appropriations Committee What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: GOP runs into voter buzzsaw of criticism on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Fresh off a huge victory in passing their 'big, beautiful bill' through the House, Republican lawmakers are finding that President Trump's agenda is a much tougher sell at home. Read more Ernst responds to jeers on Medicaid cuts: 'Well, we're all going to die' Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) pushed back against constituents who shouted out at her recent town hall meeting that cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would cause people to die, responding, 'Well, we're all going to die.' Read more Opinions in The Hill Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
