Jana Partners' Ostfeld sees reasons for TreeHouse Foods stock to rise

TreeHouse Foods

18/10/2022 20:50

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Food processing company
TreeHouse Foods Inc  THS.N  is sitting on a handful of factors
that have not been widely recognized by the markets and could
push the stock price higher, investment firm Jana Partners'
Scott Ostfeld said on Tuesday.
    "Hidden sources of value are on top of a solid core of
increasing private label penetration and acceleration of
trade-down due to a more challenging macro environment,"
Ostfeld, a partner at Jana Partners, said at the 13D Monitor
Active-Passive Investor Summit. 
    The company, which has a market capitalization of roughly
$2.7 billion and whose share price has climbed 13% this year, is
benefitting from an improved portfolio, better alignment with
management, a seller's note and a pending lawsuit, Ostfeld said.
"The improved portfolio should command a higher valuation." 
    The company also adopted a plan earlier this year which
would incentivize management to help get the stock price, now
trading at $47.91, above $60 a share.
    At the same time the company benefits by holding a $420
million senior secured seller note used to finance sale of Meal
Prep business which pays a 10% interest which is ready to rise
to 13%.
    The company and several others also sued Keurig Green
Mountain for having allegedly monopolized markets for single-
serve coffee brewers and pods, something for which no analyst
has assigned any value, Ostfeld said.
 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))