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If peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches are comfort food, then The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) is a comfort stock. You're probably familiar with the firm's trademark jams and jellies, but Smucker also peddles foodstuffs under the brand names Jif, Crisco, Hungry Jack, Pillsbury, and Carnation, to name just a few. In short, you'd be hard-pressed to find any aisle in your local grocery store that doesn't display Smucker's wares.

In its most recent earnings report, SJM proved that it's good to be a consumer-staples company in today's tumultuous economy. Chairman Tim Smucker observed, "The number of meals prepared and consumed at home, as recent market data indicate, continues to be trending upward in this challenging economic environment, and are currently at levels not seen since 1994."

Not only did this positive fundamental catalyst allow Smucker to beat analysts' earnings-per-share estimates, the firm absolutely crushed Wall Street's revenue expectations. The jam giant boasted second-quarter sales of $843.1 million, up 19% from the year-ago period, while analysts had expected revenue of just $796.1 million.

Despite the company's fundamental advantage, short sellers are overwhelmingly betting against SJM. Short interest on the stock has ballooned by an eye-popping 397% during the past month, and now represents 10.7% of the equity's available float. In light of Smucker's strong earnings report and its ensuing surge on the charts, SJM could bounce higher as the shorts are forced to cover their bearish bets.

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Cheap Stocks: The J.M. Smucker Company originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.