Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) announced that Thomas E. (Tom) Salmon has been elected as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective Oct 3, 2016. The appointment is the next step in the company’s ongoing succession process.
Salmon currently serves as President of Berry Plastics’ Consumer Packaging Division and will continue in the role concurrently along with his new duties until his successor is appointed. As the new COO, Salmon will be responsible for the company’s operating businesses, operations, supply chain and procurement.
Berry Plastics also announced that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jonathan D. (Jon) Rich, has informed the board of his plans to retire, effective Feb 2017. Upon his retirement, Rich will continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the board.
In Aug 2016, Berry Plastics decided to acquire leading plastic packaging films manufacturer, AEP Industries Inc., for $765 million (including debt). The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016, pursuant to the approval of AEP shareholders and customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Berry Plastics continues to be optimistic about healthcare, pharmaceuticals, personal care and food packaging growth opportunities outside North America, especially in Asia and Latin America. Moreover, the company will continue to take the necessary proactive steps to remain competitive and lead the markets where it operates.
Berry Plastics currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other stocks worth considering in the sector include Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) , UFP Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPT) and AO Smith Corp. (NYSE:AOS) .
Packaging Corporation of America has seen upward estimate revisions of around 3% over the past 90 days. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
UFP Technologies, also sporting a Zacks Rank #1 stock, has witnessed solid estimate revisions of roughly 33% over the past 30 days.
AO Smith, which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has seen upward estimate revisions of 1% over the last 30 days.
Confidential from Zacks
Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>
PACKAGING CORP (PKG): Free Stock Analysis Report
UFP TECH INC (UFPT): Free Stock Analysis Report
SMITH (AO) CORP (AOS): Free Stock Analysis Report
BERRY PLASTICS (BERY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post