Top foodmakers should boost your returns

Article Excerpt

With Wall Street Stock Forecaster, we continue to direct your attention to firms that either lead or, in many cases, dominate their markets. That helps to protect investors as markets undergo change. These two food giants continue to adapt their businesses to shifting consumer tastes, and the move to more healthful choices. Given their size and influence—to say nothing of their powerful brands—we feel their moves will pay off for you. That’s in the form of both higher investor gains as well as higher dividends. CONAGRA BRANDS INC., $29, is a buy. Through the stock (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 486.7 million; Market cap: $14.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagrabrands.com) investors tap the company’s packaged foods brands, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream. In October 2018, Conagra paid $8.03 billion (64% cash, 36% stock) for foodmaker Pinnacle Foods. Pinnacle’s debt,…