Updating Newell Brands Inc., Kraft Heinz Co., and Ameren Corp.

Article Excerpt

NEWELL BRANDS INC. $17 (www.newellbrands.com) continues to make progress with a plan to narrow its focus to a few key product lines: writing; baby; home fragrance; food; appliances and cookware; outdoor and recreation; and safety and security. The company expects its sales in 2019, excluding both the businesses that it plans to sell and currency rates, will range from $8.2 billion to $8.4 billion. That’s down from $8.6 billion in 2018. The expected drop is partly due to the bankruptcy of the Toys R Us retail stores in the U.S. Newell also cut its 2019 earnings forecast to between $1.50 and $1.65 a share from $2.68 in 2018. The stock trades at 10.8 times the midpoint of that range. Hold. KRAFT HEINZ CO. $48 (www.krafteinzcompany.com) recently paid $200 million for Primal Nutrition. That firm makes a variety of condiments, sauces and salad dressings without dairy, gluten, grains and soy products. The new operations should help offset slowing demand for the company’s traditional packaged foods. Primal should…