Both of these dividend payments look safe

Article Excerpt

Foodmakers Campbell Soup and General Mills are now facing two challenges—slowing sales as restaurants re-open, and rising costs for ingredients and transportation. While their dividends look secure, we feel Campbell Soup is in a better position to overcome these setbacks with cost savings and investments in healthier products. CAMPBELL SOUP CO. $42 is a buy. The company (New York symbol CPB; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 303.1 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; Dividend yield: 3.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.campbellsoupcompany.com) last raised its quarterly dividend by 5.7% with the February 2021 payment. The new annual rate of $1.48 yields a solid 3.5%. Under its new strategic plan, which began in 2018, Campbell sold most of its international and refrigerated-foods businesses. That let it focus on canned soups, pasta and V8 vegetable juices. Campbell also kept its snack food operations. They were significantly expanded in March 2018 when the company paid $6.1 billion for snack-foods maker Snyder’s-Lance. Snacks now…