Latest news with #GreencoreGroup
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Surge in deadly E coli cases linked to contaminated salad leaves outbreak that killed two people
Health officials have warned of a surge in deadly E. coli infections following an outbreak linked to contaminated salad leaves that killed two people last year. Infections of shiga toxin (STEC) rose by 26 per cent to 2,544 cases in 2024, largely driven by the salad outbreak, which led to 196 cases, 11 people developing life-threatening complications and 126 people needing hospital treatment. The findings come after the Food Standards Agency issued an alert for the recall of sandwiches, wraps and salads sold at major supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, Amazon, Boots, Morrisons, and Co-operative, Tesco and WH Smith in June last year. The warning prompted Greencore Group, Samworth Brothers Manton Wood and THIS!, to withdraw 45 products from sale over fears they were contaminated with the harmful bug that can cause life-threatening kidney failure and death. Of the 2,544 cases last year, there were seven deaths and 467 cases were linked to five separate outbreaks across the UK, with 348 of those in England. The sources of the outbreaks were contaminated beef, fresh fruit, and salad leaves. Children aged 1 to 4 years were most affected by the outbreaks, with 84 cases recorded, prompting the health authority to urge parents to remind children to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and hot water and dry them thoroughly before eating. STEC bacteria spread through contact with animals or their faeces, consuming contaminated food or water, and from person to person. UKHSA said children have a higher rate of infection, likely because they have less time to build immunity, worse hygiene practices, and are often exposed after coming into contact with farm animals, particularly at petting farms. Travel-related cases also increased by 60 per cent from 114 in 2023 to 183 in 2024. Dr Gauri Godbole, deputy director, gastrointestinal infections, food safety and one health at UKHSA, said: 'STEC cases rose by around a quarter in 2024. While this rise is partly due to one foodborne outbreak, we have been seeing STEC cases gradually increase since 2022, and therefore it's important for people to take steps to prevent infection." 'If you have any STEC symptoms, like mild to bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and dehydration, wash your hands with soap and warm water and use bleach-based products to clean surfaces. Don't prepare food for others if you have symptoms or for 48 hours after symptoms stop.' Natasha Smith, director of food policy at the Food Standards Agency, said: 'Public safety is our highest priority. The FSA works closely with UKHSA and other partners to monitor and assess the latest foodborne disease data. We are working together to understand the reasons behind the rise in STEC cases, as well as trends in other pathogens, to help us take the necessary action to protect public health.' It said people can reduce their risk of getting food poisoning at home by following good hygiene practices on the correct ways to chill, clean, cook, and avoid cross-contamination of food.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Surge in deadly E coli cases linked to contaminated salad leaves outbreak that killed two people
Health officials have warned of a surge in deadly E. coli infections following an outbreak linked to contaminated salad leaves that killed two people last year. Infections of shiga toxin (STEC) rose by 26 per cent to 2,544 cases in 2024, largely driven by the salad outbreak, which led to 196 cases, 11 people developing life-threatening complications and 126 people needing hospital treatment. The findings come after the Food Standards Agency issued an alert for the recall of sandwiches, wraps and salads sold at major supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, Amazon, Boots, Morrisons, and Co-operative, Tesco and WH Smith in June last year. The warning prompted Greencore Group, Samworth Brothers Manton Wood and THIS!, to withdraw 45 products from sale over fears they were contaminated with the harmful bug that can cause life-threatening kidney failure and death. Of the 2,544 cases last year, there were seven deaths and 467 cases were linked to five separate outbreaks across the UK, with 348 of those in England. The sources of the outbreaks were contaminated beef, fresh fruit, and salad leaves. Children aged 1 to 4 years were most affected by the outbreaks, with 84 cases recorded, prompting the health authority to urge parents to remind children to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and hot water and dry them thoroughly before eating. STEC bacteria spread through contact with animals or their faeces, consuming contaminated food or water, and from person to person. UKHSA said children have a higher rate of infection, likely because they have less time to build immunity, worse hygiene practices, and are often exposed after coming into contact with farm animals, particularly at petting farms. Travel-related cases also increased by 60 per cent from 114 in 2023 to 183 in 2024. Dr Gauri Godbole, deputy director, gastrointestinal infections, food safety and one health at UKHSA, said: 'STEC cases rose by around a quarter in 2024. While this rise is partly due to one foodborne outbreak, we have been seeing STEC cases gradually increase since 2022, and therefore it's important for people to take steps to prevent infection." 'If you have any STEC symptoms, like mild to bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and dehydration, wash your hands with soap and warm water and use bleach-based products to clean surfaces. Don't prepare food for others if you have symptoms or for 48 hours after symptoms stop.' Natasha Smith, director of food policy at the Food Standards Agency, said: 'Public safety is our highest priority. The FSA works closely with UKHSA and other partners to monitor and assess the latest foodborne disease data. We are working together to understand the reasons behind the rise in STEC cases, as well as trends in other pathogens, to help us take the necessary action to protect public health.' It said people can reduce their risk of getting food poisoning at home by following good hygiene practices on the correct ways to chill, clean, cook, and avoid cross-contamination of food.
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: Greencore, AkzoNobel, Infineon
On this episode of Stock Movers: - Greencore Group shares jump as much as 9.3%, trading at their highest level since January 2020, after the food manufacturer lifted its profit outlook for the year. Analysts at Jefferies say the firm's growth is outpacing the wider grocery industry. The update has also lifted Bakkavor to an all—time high, with the firm in the process of being bought by Greencore. - AkzoNobel shares fall as much as 5.3%, the most since early April, with Morgan Stanley analysts calling it a 'disappointing set of results' with pricing/mix coming in below their expectations. AkzoNobel cut its profit forecast for the year, as it factored the impact of currency headwinds into its guidance and warned of ongoing tariff uncertainty. The maker of Dulux paints now expects its 2025 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be above €1.48 billion ($1.73 billion), according to a statement Tuesday. The firm previously guided for more than €1.55 billion. - Weaker demand in the auto and industrial segments could be a drag on sales for Infineon Technologies AG and STMicroelectronics NV. Last week, Renault SA slashed its guidance for this year's operating margins because of intensifying competition and a decline in the auto market. Stellantis NV on Monday reported a surprise first-half net loss.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greencore Group plc (LON:GNC) is largely controlled by institutional shareholders who own 75% of the company
Significantly high institutional ownership implies Greencore Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. To get a sense of who is truly in control of Greencore Group plc (LON:GNC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 75% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company. Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Greencore Group. Check out our latest analysis for Greencore Group Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Greencore Group. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Greencore Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. It would appear that 6.3% of Greencore Group shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Polaris Capital Management, LLC is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.7% by the third-largest shareholder. We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. Our information suggests that Greencore Group plc insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own UK£1.8m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Greencore Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Greencore Group better, we need to consider many other factors. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph. But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greencore Group plc (LON:GNC) Shares Could Be 42% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate
Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Greencore Group fair value estimate is UK£3.89 Greencore Group's UK£2.27 share price signals that it might be 42% undervalued Our fair value estimate is 58% higher than Greencore Group's analyst price target of UK£2.46 Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Greencore Group plc (LON:GNC) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Levered FCF (£, Millions) UK£73.0m UK£83.4m UK£93.6m UK£87.0m UK£83.3m UK£81.5m UK£80.9m UK£81.1m UK£81.8m UK£83.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x2 Est @ -7.08% Est @ -4.19% Est @ -2.17% Est @ -0.76% Est @ 0.23% Est @ 0.92% Est @ 1.41% Present Value (£, Millions) Discounted @ 6.6% UK£68.4 UK£73.3 UK£77.2 UK£67.2 UK£60.4 UK£55.4 UK£51.6 UK£48.5 UK£45.9 UK£43.6 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK£591m We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 6.6%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2034 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = UK£83m× (1 + 2.5%) ÷ (6.6%– 2.5%) = UK£2.1b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK£2.1b÷ ( 1 + 6.6%)10= UK£1.1b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is UK£1.7b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK£2.3, the company appears quite undervalued at a 42% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Greencore Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Check out our latest analysis for Greencore Group Strength Debt is not viewed as a risk. Weakness Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Food industry. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Food market. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years. Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the British market. Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Greencore Group, we've compiled three fundamental items you should consider: Financial Health: Does GNC have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does GNC's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the LSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
