Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) is set to report Q4 data before the opening bell on Thursday, May 28. How will the company do? And by that I mean, will it beat the earnings expectation?

In general, that's what the market looks for. Sometimes the market cares more about beating the analyst game than it does about profit growth. Might sound strange, but that's what you see from time to time. Of course, even when a company beats, it may not make much of a difference when it comes to price action (I'll get to that in the last paragraph).

I think Heinz will indeed beat on the bottom line. I'm going by recent history here. According to Earnings.com, Heinz is expected to report 54 cents per share tomorrow. The company went beyond the call in the first three quarters of its fiscal year. Why miss on the last quarter of the year? I think the trend is in on this one.

HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) recently learned inadvertently how strong its brand was with consumers.

The company had announced that it was going to change the label on its flagship brand of ketchup. It seemed entirely reasonable and appropriate to drop the pickle from the label and replace it with a tomato.

Little did the company expect to encounter outrage from consumers, who launched a "Save the Pickle" campaign, complete with a blog, and an organized letter and e-mail avalanche.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

When it comes to this staple of kitchens and diners worldwide, the most common question after "Is it ketchup or catsup?" has got to be "Heinz or Hunt's?"

The Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company was founded in 1890 by Joseph and William Hunt in Santa Clara, California. It was a small canning business on the ground of a ranch, delivered locally by horse-drawn carriage. In 1946, tomato sauce became the flagship product, and a marketing push made the little red cans familiar across the U.S., and lead to plethora of other tomato-based products, including spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, and, of course, ketchup.

Today Hunt's is one brand of many belonging to packaged and frozen foods giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) ranging from Healthy Choice to Slim Jims, from Orville Redenbacher to Egg Beaters. ConAgra reported $12 billion in sales last year.

Everyone loves ketchup (well, then again, I'm sure there are a few out there who don't). But should everyone love Heinz's (NYSE: HNZ) latest earnings missive?

I say the earnings were respectable, if not utterly spectacular, in the third quarter. The top line moved up a robust 14% to $2.6 billion in sales; operating income increased 8%. The bottom line, however, was, eh, okay -- $0.68 per diluted share for this Q3 versus $0.66 per diluted share for last year's Q3. A two-penny increase isn't a reason to party, I suppose. Then again, Heinz isn't one of those companies that inspire you to throw a party upon an earnings release. Like Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Kraft (NYSE: KFT), it's a consumer foodstuffs name backed by a portfolio of well-known brands that people gravitate toward every day in supermarkets across the globe.

Here's the thing about Heinz, however: it sports a yield of approximately 3.3%, and it is in the middle of a tight 52-week range. That is definitely an attractive situation for the stock. Heinz is being perceived as a safe, recession-proof play. I'm not sure anything is truly recession-proof, but I do think the yield is impressive, and I think that such a stock may continue to hold steady, and even outperform, in this environment.

HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) should have really strong sales this week leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. With more interest this year than in any Super Bowl in recent memory, with the two storylines of the Patriots trying to run the table, and a New York team in the big game, not only should TV ratings skyrocket, but I would expect the number of Super Bowl parties to be up as well. Clearly that will benefit the condiment maker.

Heinz is trading toward the bottom of its 52-week range and sports a yield of over 3%. What makes this even more interesting is that investing guru Nelson Peltz owns a share. About two months ago, Peltz filed a prospectus for the $750 million initial public offering of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Due to the ways SPACs are set up, he will need to make some kind of acquisition, and that deal may just be Heinz.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 1/27/08

Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) recently released 4Q as well as FY 2007 results. Raise a toast of tomato juice because Heinz has implemented its multiyear product innovation and growth plan in all aspects. At its recent close of $47.20, the stock has not moved much from its beginning-of-the-year price of $45.75, so shares are still bargain-priced for what an investor gets.

Heinz's P/E is right at industry average, but its EPS is above industry average. Both growth and income are on track to exceed estimates and the company recently raised the dividend rate 8.6%, in addition to a FY 2006 dividend rate raise of 16.7%.

Don't just think ketchup when thinking Heinz. The company also owns such well-known brands as Boston Market, Smart Ones (diet foods), Classico (pasta sauces), Ore-Ida (frozen taters), and Weight Watchers. All these products are eaten by consumers every day and there is no mystery about the business model. Heinz stock merits a careful look from investors.