5 Food Stocks to Bet Your Money On

 | May 06, 2020 04:53AM ET

Experts, analysts and just about everybody else have been saying that the pandemic is going to materially change the way we do things, particularly with respect to health, hygiene and food habits. And one of the changes that it has brought and that’s likely to continue in the foreseeable future is cooking at home. This is directly opposite to the way we were thinking right before, as everyone was increasingly eating out.

But as more people continue working from home and even conducting meetings over digital platforms, while trying to maintain a certain amount of social distancing, eating out could be something we do less often.

This directly benefits the companies that offer the ingredients for home-cooking, so that’s the segment grabbing the limelight for now. Here are a few stocks poised to profit from this trend, along with some encouraging numbers-

The J. M. Smucker Company SJM

The J.M. Smucker Company is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products like coffee, peanut butter, fruit spreads, baking products, ready-to-spread frostings, frozen sandwiches, flour and juices as well as pet food and pet snacks in North America. Although the majority of its operations are in the U.S., it also operates internationally.

Zacks Rank #1

VGM B (VGM is a composite score allotted to a stock to denote its suitability for value, growth, or momentum investors)

Value B (A value score of A or B indicates that it is particularly suited for value investors)

Last EPS surprise 5.86%

April quarter EPS up 22 cents, July quarter EPS estimate up 10 cents, 2020 EPS estimate up 22 cents in the last 30 days

Dividend 3.52 (3.03%)