With the focus still on the coronavirus, social distancing and economic distress, traders have clearly abandoned all sorts of “risk assets.” Safety is the name of the game – and it can’t get safer than bacon, canned chili or peanut butter. This is all wonderful news for our new Best Dividend Stocks List pick in the consumer goods sector.
Our pick is one of the largest pre-packaged food producers specializing in meat and other protein sources, being especially proficient in the ready-to-eat category. With COVID-19 causing many people to stay home, these sorts of foods have exploded in popularity as consumers stock up and eat in.
But our pick isn’t just a play on canned meat. There’s growth behind it as well.
Expansions in new markets, as well as a hefty dose of new plant-based and organic/natural offers, have helped boost margins over the last few years. This has only strengthened our pick’s already fortress-like balance sheet – and it’s no wonder why our pick has managed to raise its dividend for more than 50 years straight. With its low debt, stable product demand, and increasing focus on new markets, our latest pick has exactly what investors should be looking for in the current environment.
In the end, our pick has the right amount of growth and safety to get income seekers through the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond.
To summarize, here are five reasons why you should own this stock:
1. Continued record sales growth of more than 10% annually for the last decade.
2. One of the first movers into natural, organic and plant-based protein sources, providing it with a long runway for future growth.
3. Features low debt, high cash flows, and plenty of liquidity on its balance sheet.
4. Dividend Aristocrat with 50+ years of dividend increases, with the latest increase being more than 10%.
5. Healthy payout ratio of 54% and increasing yield of 1.92%.
Asset Manager Removed
With investors selling stocks en masse, many asset managers have seen their stars fade. Unfortunately, this includes one of our picks in the financial sector. Despite having strong active returns, our pick has suffered from assets fleeing its system during the COVID-19 crisis, which will impact its earnings – and investors have taken notice. With its Relative Strength score now too low for our model, we’ve been forced to remove the stock from our coveted list.
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.
