We’re only a few days into the new year and 2020 is already shaping up to be a wild ride. With rising tensions in the Middle East and economic growth still slowing across the board, stocks have once again turned negative. Volatility has risen and investors continue to worry about the near-to-medium term. It’s not an ideal environment to focus on risk, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a side of growth while hunkering down in the trenches. And our Best Dividend Stocks List pick in the consumer staples sector is a prime example of how investors can have their cake and eat it too. Literally.
Our pick is one of the largest producers of candy, cookies and other snack foods across the globe. This niche has continued to provide plenty of stability to its cash flows, profits and sales as well as power its dividends higher since its spin-off. This stability makes it a prime pick for the current uncertainty plaguing the globe. People continue to buy affordable luxuries like candy, even when the chips are down.
But in all that stability, our pick isn’t ‘boring’ by any means. No sir, our pick continues to find new avenues of growth to keep its snack food empire expanding. This includes expanding into new markets and adding a hefty dose of healthy snacks. Many emerging market consumers are now finally having enough disposable income to afford items like cookies and candy. This provides plenty of runway for our pick to grow revenues into the future. At the same time, our pick has continued to adapt to changes in consumer tastes here as well. Higher-margined organic and natural snacks, crackers and cookies now dot its product lineup. Moves into cannabis-infused snacks and plant-based options will help fuel future growth as well.
All of this has allowed our pick to have the perfect blend of stability and growth potential. And this is just what investors need in the current market.
To summarize, here are five reasons why you should own this stock:
1. Large international portfolio of brands with sales hitting well over $25 billion for full-year 2018.
2. Expanded portfolio of natural and organic snack products helped drive sales by over 4% and EPS by over 10% during the last quarter.
3. Year-to-date free cash flows of more than $1 billion, which is already $100 million more than what was recorded at this time during the previous year.
4. Since its spin-off, our pick has managed to steadily increase its dividend – growing by over 100% in just seven years.
5. Healthy payout ratio of 46% and growing yield of 2.11%.
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.
