It’s no secret that the trade war has been a thorn in many stocks’ sides over the last few months. With the U.S. and China bickering over policy, crimping tariffs have finally started to have their way on a variety of stocks and sectors. But these days, the ice is beginning to thaw and an actual trade deal is starting to materialize. And that’s wonderful news for our Best Dividend Stocks List pick in the consumer staples sector.
At first blush, most investors would be drawn to an industrial name or tech stock to play the end of the trade war. But our pick may be a sleeper play on China – and that’s because China can’t get enough pork. Our pick just so happens to be one of the largest pork producers in the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Chinese consumers eat 123 billion pounds of pork annually. That’s roughly 87 pounds per person and it represents an increase of 30% since 1998. The emerging market nation imported a staggering a 3.6 billion pounds last year. Nearly 10 times more than just a decade ago. The problem is that the trade war has resulted in an insanely high 70% tax on U.S. imported pork.
However, with a trade deal coming and tariff expansions being relaxed, our pick is set to take back its crown and start reaping higher revenues and profits from the nation once again. Especially since the bar has been set low thanks to those tariffs. Emerging market growth has been a hallmark of our pick’s expansion plans over the last few quarters.
Adding everything up, our pick is poised to continue its streak of dividend growth and capital appreciation.
With Chinese sales set to increase again and smart moves into organic/healthy food options here at home, our pick should see its revenues surge further into the future.
Check out our original pick here.
To summarize, here are five reasons why you should own this stock:
- Reported nearly $10 billion in net sales last year. A company record!
- Achieved a milestone that only seven other firms in the S&P 500 have done. Grown earnings for 28 years straight.
- Big play on Chinese and emerging market consumer demand.
- Dividend Aristocrat with 53-consecutive-years’ worth of dividend increases. Latest increase was 12%!
- Healthy payout ratio of 48% and increasing yield of 1.95%.
Our Best Dividend Stocks List has 20 of the highest-rated stocks by our proprietary rating system. Go Premium to find out the entire list.
