It’s no secret that the pandemic has changed how we live our lives. And one of the biggest ways is how much time we spend in our homes. With work-from-home mandates and flex-time becoming the norm for many office workers, a variety of former standard practices has changed, including how we cook and eat, i.e., in-home snacking, baking and preparing meals. Luckily, our pick in the confectionary sector continues to make the most of this trend.
Our pick has been a pandemic superstar as more people stayed at home, cooking meals and making snacks. With the post-pandemic world now seeing working from home and virtual learning as the new normal, sales and success at our pick have exploded. Adding to this has been the return to restaurants, schools and activities. Overall, the continued push and pull of being at home and going out bodes well for our pick’s operations.
But our pick isn’t just staying put in its ways.
New e-commerce/direct-to-consumer sales have helped grow its brands organically while our pick has been active in the M&A space. New buyouts in the keto, low-sugar and organic markets have helped both boost margins and overcome inflation-related price cost increases.
For our pick and its investors, it’s all resulted in strong earnings growth, dividends and cash flows.
To summarize, here are five reasons why you should own this stock:
- One of the largest manufacturers of chocolate, candy and other treats, with several leading billion dollar brands under its umbrella.
- Huge moat and recession-resistant nature with a high-margin operating consumer niche.
- Earnings per share jumped by more than 10% year-over-year in the latest reported quarter.
- Continued winner in the stay/work-from-home future, with a large product portfolio for home chefs.
- Healthy payout ratio of 52% and growing yield of 1.8%.
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