4 Trending Consumer Staples Stocks For Your Watchlist
With the recent correction in the stock market, consumer staple stocks could be back in focus. It is a sector that is widely considered as a safe haven during times of uncertainties. Regardless of the market sentiment, many investors would still invest in consumer staple stocks. After all, these are companies that sell products that are constantly in demand and this could translate to long-term value for investors. On top of that, many of the stocks in this sector are also dividend stocks that have a history of increasing dividends over time.
Take Walmart (NYSE: WMT) for instance, the company’s products and services were deemed as essentials throughout the pandemic. Well, the company continues to innovate to improve its offerings despite its recent success. Recently, Sam’s Club, a division of the company, announced the national deployment of automated inventory analytics robots. So, it will help the company to obtain critical inventory data that was previously time consuming to obtain. With all said and done, it should not be surprising that investors remain keen on the consumer staples sector right now. If you feel the same way, then here is a list of the top consumer staples stocks to watch in the stock market today.
Consumer Staples Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] In February
- Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO)
- Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ)
- McCormick & Company (NYSE: MKC)
- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL)
Altria Group
Altria is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. Its subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the U.S. Meanwhile, its other subsidiary, John Middleton Co, engages in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigar and pipe tobacco. As the tobacco industry continues to evolve, the company emphasizes innovation, harm reduction, and informed consumer choices. Respectably, MO stock has risen by more than 20% over the past year.
Last week, the company announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial report. To say the least, it was an outstanding year for the company across its businesses. Altria was able to return more than $8.1 billion in cash to its shareholders in 2021 through dividends and share repurchases. Impressively, this is its third-largest single-year cash return in the company’s history and the largest annual return since 2022.
That said, its quarterly revenue dropped to $6.25 billion, but still exceeded analysts’ expectations. In light of this, the company provided optimistic guidance for the fiscal year 2022. It now expects adjusted earnings per share of $4.79 to $4.93, which represents a growth rate of 4% to 7% from its current adjusted EPS of $4.61. With that said, could MO stock continue its momentum going forward?
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Mondelez
Another top consumer staples company to note would be Mondelez. Essentially, itis a company that manufactures and markets snack food and beverage products for consumers. Its portfolio includes the likes of famous snack brands such as Nabisco, Oreo, Cadbury, Milka, and Toblerone to name a few. Besides that, it manufactures Trident gum, Halls candy, and Tang powdered beverages. Mondelez has operations in about 80 countries and sells its products in over 150 countries. Over the past year, MDLZ stock has risen by about 20%.
Last week, the company reported its Q4 earnings. Revenues were about $7.6 billion, up 4.9% from the $2.3 billion reported a year ago. In fact, this has been the highest quarterly total for the company over the past two years. Moving on, the company reported earnings per share of $0.72, which fell a hair short of analyst expectations. However, the reported figure was still an 11% increase year-over-year.
According to Mondelez’s annual State of Snaking survey, the tendency for daily snacking is up for a third consecutive year. On top of that, although consumers were concerned about the rising inflation, it was found that inflation had done little to change their grocery shopping behavior. Overall, seeing that consumers will continue snacking, would you be eyeing MDLZ stock?
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company is a food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes flavoring products. These include spices, seasoning mixes and condiments to name a few. The company primarily sells to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. Besides that, their products are available in many countries. As a matter of fact, they are the largest producer of spices and related food products worldwide, based on revenue.
Last week, McCormick reported its financial results for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2021. Getting into it, sales for the full year rose 13% from the year before. Sales were driven by strong growth in both the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. Additionally, adjusted earnings per share increased to $3.05 against $2.83 from the year before.
Moreover, for this fiscal 2022, the company expects to increase year-over-year sales by 3% to 5%. It also forecasts earnings per share to range from $3.17 to $3.22, owing to significant expected operating income growth. Considering its fundamentals, will you be buying MKC stock right now?
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Hormel Foods
Put simply, Hormel Foods is a food processing company that produces a range of meat and food products. It mainly operates in four segments, Refrigerated Foods, Grocery Products, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International & Other. The company serves over 80 countries with brands that include the likes of Planters, Columbus, SPAM, and Skippy among other beloved brands. And for a sense of scale, the company has approximately 20,000 employees.
In December, it reported its Q4 sales and earnings with double-digit sales growth across the four aforementioned segments. Diving in, net sales came in at a record $3.5 billion, up by 43% against last year. Alongside this, operating income was $358 million, increasing by 29% year-over-year.
Notably, earnings per share were a record $0.51 as well, up 19% from $0.43 the year before. CEO Jim Snee said, “The momentum we gained in the third and fourth quarters gives us confidence heading into fiscal 2022, and we expect all four segments to deliver sales and earnings growth.” Given the positive outlook, will you be adding HRL stock to your watchlist?
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