Kraft Foods Group Inc on Thursday said Tony Vernon would retire as chief executive officer later this month, with Chairman John Cahill succeeding him as the company battles sluggish demand for packaged food products in the United States.The CEO change raises the question of whether Kraft could significantly change its portfolio, which includes brands like Oscar Mayer meat, Maxwell House coffee, and Jell-O, investors and analysts said.Kraft shares rose 6.4 percent to close at $63.38, an all-time high since the company was spun off from Mondelez International Inc in 2012."When you look at their Oscar Mayer business and their Maxwell House business, it kind of makes one wonder if there are opportunities for those to be owned by someone for a higher multiple," said Kevin Dreyer, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds which owns 969,273 shares of Kraft. "Certainly, the multiples that meat and coffee businesses have been sold for are much higher than Kraft's overall multiple."
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (Kraft Foods Group) operates food and beverage businesses in North America. Shares of KRFT traded higher by 6.41% or $3.82/share to $63.38. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $50.54 and as high as $61.10. On average, 2889320 shares of KRFT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8677767.
Mondelez International, Inc. (Mondelez International) is a snack manufacturing company. Shares of MDLZ traded higher by 1.61% or $0.58/share to $36.58. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $31.83 and as high as $39.54. On average, 8389030 shares of MDLZ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 15539582.
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