This post is part of a seven article report -- Food for thought: Best bets in food & beverage stocks.
"The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) is 'one sweet stock'," says growth stock expert Jonas Elmerraji. Here, the editor of The Rhino Stock Report looks at the consumer foods firm.
"The peanut butter and jelly sandwich has been a staple of our diets here in the U.S. for a long time now. In fact, one survey estimated that the average American eats 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating high school.
"And since 1897 one company's been making those lunches possible -- The J.M. Smucker Company. And, the company is more than peanut butter and jelly.
"Besides Smucker's jelly and Jif peanut butter, the company owns and manufactures food brands like Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Crisco, and most recently Folgers. The company's brands are leaders in their categories.
"And what's more recession-resistant than PB&J? Apparently not much -- the company increased its quarterly earnings by 84% in the last year.
"At its current price, Smucker's is trading for just 93% of book value. That's saying a lot for the stock's current value, particularly when you consider how much the company gives back to investors.
"At present, Smucker's has a dividend yield of 3.29% ... one that's been paid on time every time since 1960.
"And it's growing -- yesterday, the company announced that they were raising their dividends by 9%, one of only a handful of stocks that actually increased their payouts to shareholders in 2009.
"We're not sitting idly by while these guys feed America -- it's about time they feed our portfolios too! In our model portfolio, we are taking a position at SJM."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
Deere up on Q4 earnings performance
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
Retailers can't wait for Black Friday, open Thursday
