"The stocks in our Cash Cows portfolio keep the checks coming regardless of riots in Europe, revolutions in the Middle East, or natural disasters in the Pacific," says income specialist Neil George.

The editor of The Pay Me Strategy explains, "This doesn't mean that our Cash Cows won't occasionally see negative price action on a given day or week; but you can be confident that any price setbacks will be temporary.

"The the foundation of this portfolio is four core global bond investment funds.

ConAgra Foods (CAG) was trading higher at the time of this writing in reaction to an earnings report. Shares were up 1.8% to $23.35. Volume was active.

The stock has been in a very narrow range. The 52-week low is $21.02 while the 52-week high is $26.22. The one-year chart reflects the inability of the stock to break out to new levels. What should investors think about the company at this point now that some new numbers are out?

Walmart (WMT) made an announcement yesterday after the bell that presumably would have excited Wall Street. The company's quarterly dividend was raised by 21%. Very nice. So why are the shares off today?

To be fair, they were in positive territory earlier in the morning. Unfortunately, as I write this, with roughly three hours to go before the conclusion of the session, they are down 0.5% to $51.74. Perhaps they will be in the green by the end of the day. When you think about it, though, a 21% jump in a metric that is supposed to be friendly to investors should have received a lot more respect, correct?

H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ), a food concern famous for its ketchup product and whose colleagues include ConAgra (CAG) and Campbell Soup (CPB), closed today's session higher by 1.4%. The final quote of $49.66 isn't far at all from the 52-week high of $50.77. Is the stock a buy?

You know, there's a very interesting element to this story, and it has to do with the dividend yield. Right now, Heinz's yield is 3.6%. That's pretty awesome. You've got take notice of a stock that is both near a 52-week high and possessive of a lofty yield.

What did you think of Home Depot's (HD) earnings report? I rather enjoyed it. And I think the future may be bright for the retailer and arch enemy of Lowe's (LOW).

According to TheStreet.com, net income calculated out to 36 cents per share for the fourth quarter. This was five pennies better than the overall estimate. Same-store sales experienced an increase of 3.9%. And management's forecast for the full fiscal year was upgraded.

The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), a food concern in the same category as ConAgra Foods (CAG) and Kraft Foods (KFT), issued its fiscal third-quarter report on Thursday. The document wasn't too thrilling, but it shows that the business is holding its own in the competitive battlefield of the supermarket shelves.

Its adjusted profit of $1.27 per share came in ahead of the overall projection by one penny. Not bad, considering the article highlights the challenges of navigating a volatile environment in terms of ingredient costs.

Kraft Foods (KFT) didn't exactly report an exciting quarter. Nevertheless, it is the type of stock that many hold for the long term; it doesn't necessarily force one to put a lot of weight on any single three-month period. It's a story of brands, a thesis based on consumers and supermarket shelves. The future cash flows derived from these elements is what drives an investor to buy this company.

There's nothing wrong with keeping tabs on the business, though. According to the Associated Press, Kraft made, on an adjusted basis (the Cadbury purchase was involved in the adjustment process), 46 cents per share in the fourth quarter. This was a penny less than a year ago. The consensus estimate was for net income to come in at 46 cents per share. Yes, management failed to rise above the projection.

Two companies devoted to consumer products released earnings this week. One makes items used for cleaning, the other makes goods that you can actually eat.

We'll start with the cleaning-item concern. The Clorox Company (CLX), manufacturer of the iconic laundry bleach, issued results for its fiscal second quarter earlier today. At the time of this writing, shares were higher by 2.4% to a quote of $65.26. Volume was strong. The 52-week low for the stock is $59.07 and the 52-week high is $69. The one-year chart is, well ... not that great.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB), a consumer products company that counts Procter & Gamble (PG) as a colleague, is a very interesting stock for two reasons. First, it's not too far away from its 52-week high. Second, it's trading with an extremely nice dividend yield attached. Those two elements can't help but make an investor take notice.

In fact, speaking about the dividend yield, according to the company's Q4 earnings results, management has increased the quarterly payout by 6% to 70 cents per share. Excellent news. Based on Tuesday's closing price of $65.61, a quote that found the stock up by 2.6% on significant volume, the yield on the shares is now roughly 4.3%.

Wow. General Electric Company (GE) is up 7.9% to $19.89 as I write this. Volume is strong. I wish I could say I was participating in today's rally, but alas, I am not. Late last year, I sold out of my GE position, as I explain in this article. I obviously could have sold at a higher price, but hey, I needed to sell when I did; that's just how it goes.

I like the price action I'm seeing, and I believe the Q4 profit report was solid. According to the Associated Press, continuing operations captured 36 cents per share, four pennies above the projection. Probably of more significant note in some respects is the top-line performance: the AP stated that net sales increased on a year-over-year basis, a feat that hasn't been observed for quite a while.

Hershey (HSY) is rocking today after receiving an upgrade. According to our Analyst Calls piece, Wells Fargo believes the stock won't just be a market performer; instead, it has been granted an outperform rating.

At the time of this writing, shares were higher by 2.1% to $49.82. That's not too far away from the 52-week high of $52.10, and it is well above the 52-week low of $35.95. Here's the one-year chart. As can be seen, the action has been sideways for a while.

With about twenty minutes to go before the end of the trading day, I see a quote of $31.18 for Kraft Foods (KFT). That meant that the stock was basically flat, down a mere penny to be exact.

Boring. I actually used that word to describe this stock back in August. What else do you call a stock that has traded in such a narrow 52-week range? Currently, the low for the year is set at $27.09 while the high is $32.67.