Bemis Inks Agreement With Starboard To Appoint New Directors

Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) recently entered into an agreement with Starboard Value LP (Starboard) to appoint new independent directors to its board.

Per the announcement, Bemis has elected Guillermo Novo, Marran H. Ogilvie, George W. Wurtz III, and Robert H. Yanker as the new directors effective immediately. Starboard, which has about 3.3% stake in Bemis, will vote in favor of all of the board's nominees.

Bemis also announced that two existing board members will not stand for re-election at the 2018 annual meeting. Following the meeting, the board will comprise 13 directors, 12 of whom will be independent.

In addition, Bemis has created a Finance and Strategy Committee of the board, which will include two incumbent directors, David S. Haffner and Philip G. Weaver, and two new directors, Ogilvie and Yanker. This committee will look after the company’s financial matters.

Bemis’ decision to appoint directors is anticipated to enhance shareholders’ value. In sync with its commitment to boost shareholders’ value, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $103.8 million during fiscal 2017. Also, recently Bemis approved a 3.3% hike in its quarterly cash dividend to 31 cents per share.

Bemis has underperformed its industry with respect to price performance over the past six months. The stock has lost around 4%, while the industry has recorded growth of 2% during the same time frame.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Bemis currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the same sector are AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) , Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) . All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

AptarGroup has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.5%. Its shares have rallied 4.7%, over the past six months.

Caterpillar has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. The company’s shares have been up 25% during the same time frame.

Deere has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.2%. The stock has gained 32% in six months’ time.

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