Stocks fall but investors still nibble on food names
Investors are nibbling on the names of foods as they take a defensive stance on dividend-paying stocks and companies deemed better recession-proof.
On Wall Street, analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Kraft Heinz (DIFFERENT) on Monday and said that while relative valuations for consumer staples in general may seem daunting, food stocks remain attractive on a valuation basis to investors. The company is active in the food sector with price increases that are larger and longer lasting than previously thought, which should support margins even after input costs come down.
Food-related bulls in Monday’s midday trading included Calavo Growers (CVGW) + 4.15%BRF SA (BRFS) + 4.20%Weis Markets (WMK) + 3.11%United Natural Foods (UNFI) + 2.88%SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) + 2.73%Kraft Heinz (DIFFERENT) + 2.66%JM Smucker (SJM) +2.61%NaturalGrocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) + 2.39%Campbell Soup (CPB) + 1.99%Conagra Brands (CAG) +1.95%Food Flowers (FLO) + 1.88%, General Mills (GIS) + 1.71%and Kroger (KR) + 1.67%.
Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ) has performed better this year and is showing the advantage of 1.19% on Monday even with the broad market in negative territory.
See one list of the highest-rated food stocks by Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.