Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now

Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL  ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats.

In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.

Hormel is famous for Spam, but it offers a full line of meat and other food products, ranging from Chi-Chi's salsa and tortillas to Dinty Moore beef stew. Like many consumer-oriented businesses, Hormel has built up a reliable customer base that gives it a dependable and predictable flow of cash that it can then funnel out to shareholders. Let's take a closer look at Hormel to see whether it can sustain its long streak of rewarding dividend payouts to investors.

Top 10 Food Stocks To Buy Right Now: Seaboard Corporation(SEB)

Seaboard Corporation operates as a diversified agribusiness and transportation company worldwide. Its Pork division engages in hog production and pork processing; and the production and sale of fresh and frozen pork products, such as lunchmeat, ham, bacon, sausage, loins, tenderloins, and ribs, as well as further processed pork products, including raw and pre-cooked bacon to further processors, foodservice operators, grocery stores, distributors, and retail outlets under the Prairie Fresh and Daily's brand names. This division also produces and sells biodiesel from pork and other animal fats to third parties. The company?s Commodity Trading and Milling division sources, transports, and markets wheat, corn, soybean meal, rice, and other commodities, as well as operates flour, feed, and maize milling businesses. Its Marine division provides containerized cargo shipping service to 26 countries between the United States, the Caribbean Basin, and central and South America; and operates a terminal at the Port of Miami, an off-dock warehouse for cargo consolidation and temporary storage, and a cargo terminal at the Port of Houston for temporary storage of bagged grains, resins, and other cargo. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 10 owned and approximately 29 chartered vessels; and dry, refrigerated, and specialized containers and other related equipment. The company?s Sugar division produces and refines sugar cane, produces alcohol, and purchases and resells sugar to retailers, soft drink manufacturers, and food manufacturers in Argentina. Its Power division operates as an independent power producer in the Dominican Republic operating 2 floating barges with a system of diesel engines with combined capacity of approximately 112 megawatts of electricity. Seaboard Corporation also purchases and processes jalapeno peppers in the United States. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Seaboard Corporation is a subsidiary of Seaboard Flour LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Even though you probably don’t know Seaboard (SEB), you almost certainly know its most famous product: Butterball turkey. But Butterball is just a small part of Seaboard, whose businesses include an eclectic mix of pork production, container shipping on the high seas, and electric power plants in the Dominican Republic.

• [By Norm Rothery]

  I happened upon Seaboard Corp. (SEB) a few years ago, when I was looking for stocks that buy back their shares. It's not the most aggressive re-purchaser in the market, but it has reduced its share count by 20% since the turn of the century.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Meat Products:
  This industry fell 0.85% by 11:00 am ET. Seaboard Corp. (NYSE: SEB) shares dropped 1.5% in today's trading. Seaboard shares have jumped 42.33% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has surged 13.04% in the same period.

• [By David Milstead]

  Steve Halpern: Now you note in the article that the $1,000 Club is still very exclusive. In fact, there were only four stocks that made the list and two of them, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) and Seaboard (SEB) have been above this level for some time. Can you tell us a little about those companies?

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets.

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlands. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  As mentioned, Kroger is still swallowing Harris Teeter and has said it needs time to make more acquisitions. Royal Ahold (NASDAQOTH: AHONY  ) is also said to be leery about doing large acquisitions these days, while Cerberus recently finished acquiring the Albertsons and Acme chains from SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) �for $3.3 billion.

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: Campbell Soup Co (CPB)

Campbell Soup Company (Campbell), incorporated on November 23, 1922, together with its subsidiaries, is a manufacturer and marketer of branded convenience food products. The Company operates in five segments: U.S. Simple Meals; Global Baking and Snacking; International Simple Meals and Beverages; U.S. Beverages; and North America Foodservice. In June 2012, the Company purchased 1300 Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden. On August 6, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of BF Bolthouse Holdco LLC (Bolthouse Farms). In September 2012, Vilmorin & Cie SA acquired the tomato and pepper breeding and sales business of the Company. In June 2013, Campbell Soup Co completed the acquisition of Plum Organics. In August 2013, Campbell Soup Company completed the acquisition of Kelsen Group A/S.

In the United States, Canada and Latin America, the Company�� products are resold to consumers in retail food chains, mass discounters, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores, dollar stores and other retail, commercial and non-commercial establishments. In Europe, the Company�� products are resold to consumers in retail food chains, mass discounters, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores and other retail, commercial and non-commercial establishments. In the Asia Pacific region, the Company�� products are resold to consumers through retail food chains, convenience stores and other retail, commercial and non-commercial establishments.

U.S. Simple Meals

The U.S. Simple Meals segment aggregates the operating segments: U.S. Soup and U.S. Sauces. The U.S. Soup retail business includes the products, such as Campbell�� condensed and ready-to-serve soups, and Swanson broth and stocks. The U.S. Sauces retail business includes Pregopasta sauces, Pace Mexican sauces, Campbell�� canned gravies, pasta, and beans, and Swanson canned poultry.

Global Baking and Snacking

The Global Baking and Snacking segment include Pepperi! dge Farm cookies, crackers, bakery and frozen products in the United States retail. It also includes Arnott�� biscuits in Australia and Asia Pacific.

International Simple Meals and Beverages

The International Simple Meals and Beverages segment aggregates the simple meals and beverages operating segments outside of the United States, including Europe, the retail business in Canada, and the businesses in Asia Pacific, Latin America and China. The segment�� operations include Erasco and Heisse Tasse soups in Germany,Liebig and Royco soups in France, Devos Lemmens mayonnaise and cold sauces and Campbell�� and Royco soups in Belgium, and Bla Band soups and sauces in Sweden. In Canada, operations include Habitant and Campbell�� soups, Prego pasta sauces, Pace Mexican sauces, V8 juices and beverages and certain Pepperidge Farm products. In Asia Pacific, operations include Campbell�� soup and stock, Kimball sauces, V8 juices and beverages, Prego pasta sauce and Swanson broths.

U.S. Beverages

The U.S. Beverages segment represents the United States retail beverages business, including V8 juices and beverages, and Campbell�� tomato juice.

North America Foodservice

The North America Foodservice segment represents the distribution of products, such as soup, specialty entrees, beverage products, other prepared foods and Pepperidge Farm products through food service channels in the United States and Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  After last week’s banner performance in which 17 companies increased dividends, this week’s action was a little slower, but packed a big punch. Among the companies rewarding shareholders were management consulting giant Accenture (ACN), defense contractor Lockheed (LMT), and prepared-foods icon Campbell’s (CPB).

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: Suedzucker Mannheim Ochsenfurt AG (SZU)

Suedzucker Mannheim Ochsenfurt AG is a Germany-based company engaged in the processing of agricultural raw materials. The Company is organized, along with its subsidiaries, into four segments: the Sugar segment comprises sugar production and the agricultural division; the Special Products segment includes the activities of four divisions: BENEO, which produces and sells ingredients made from natural raw materials for food products and animal feed; the Freiberger Group is a producer of chilled and frozen pizzas, frozen pasta dishes and snacks; the PortionPack Europe group specializes in portion packs, and the starch division comprises starch companies in Hungary and Romania, bio-ethanol production in Austria and Hungary, as well as starch production facilities in Austria; the CropEnergies segment includes the bio-ethanol activities of the Company in Germany, Belgium and France, and the Fruit segment comprises the fruit juice preparations and fruit juice concentrates divisions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Volkswagen AG (VOW), Europe�� biggest automaker, climbed 3.7 percent as data showed European car sales increased for the first time in 19 months in April. Suedzucker AG (SZU) dropped to an eight-month low as J&E Davy Holdings Ltd. downgraded the shares.

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: American Lorain Corp (ALN)

American Lorain Corporation (ALN), incorporated on February 4, 1986, is an integrated food manufacturing company. The Company develops, manufactures and sells food products, which includes chestnut products, convenience foods, including ready-to-cook (RTC) foods, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and meals ready-to-eat (MRE)), and frozen food products. The Company conducts its production activities in China. Its products are sold in 26 provinces and administrative regions in China and 42 foreign countries. The Company derives its revenues from sales in China, Japan and South Korea. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company produced 254 products, including 16 new products in its chestnut and convenience foods segment. During 2011, it discontinued three products in the convenience segment. In February 2014, American Lorain Corp acquired a 51% interest in Athena Group.

The Company manufactures its products in six facilities in China, three of which are located in Junan County, Shandong Province, one in Luotian County, Hubei Province, one in Miyun County, Beijing City and one leased facility in Dongguan, Guandong Province. As of December 31, 2011, the Company manufactured its products using 26 production lines. Each production line is used to produce between 10 and 50 products. The Company operates three product lines: deep-freezing lines, canning lines and convenience food lines. The Company sells its products in all first-tier cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. Its export sales destinations include Asia pacific, primarily Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, but also Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia; Europe, primarily Belgium and the United Kingdom, but also France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Denmark the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel; North America, including the United States and Canada.

ALN owns 100% of International Lorain Holding, Inc. (ILH). ILH wholly owns two Chinese operating subsi! diaries, Luotian Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Luotian Lorain) and Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Junan Hongrun), directly. Junan Hongrun, in turn, wholly owns Dongguan Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Dongguan Lorain). In addition, together with Junan Hongrun, ILH wholly owns Beijing Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Beijing Lorain), Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Shandong Greenpia), and owns approximately 80% of Shandong Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Shandong Lorain) (Shandong Economic Development Investment Co. Ltd. owns approximately 20%).

Chestnut Products

During 2011, the Company produced 57 processed chestnut products. During 2011, this segment contributed 51.7% of its total revenues. The Company's products include its aerated open-bottom chestnuts, which are chestnuts packaged with nitrogen; sweetheart chestnuts, which are sweet preserved chestnuts; chestnuts in syrup, and golden chestnut kernels.

Convenience Foods

The Company's convenience food products include RTC food products, RTE food products and MRE food products. During 2011, the Company's RTCs included beef and lamb products, and its RTEs included bean products and pickle products. The Company's self heating MREs are primarily for military use since no cooking device or other ingredients are needed other than water. The Company also introduced microwavable MREs for civilian uses, such as camping, traveling and other situations. The Company produces various MREs based on Chinese cuisine, which include its pork with garlic sauce over rice and kungpao chicken with rice. The Company produced 138 convenience food products, during 2011, including 14 new products, such as filled buns and fried sweet potato.

Frozen Food Products

The Company produces a variety of frozen foods, including frozen vegetables, frozen fruits, frozen fish, and frozen meats. The Company produced 63 frozen food products in 2011. The Company's frozen foods included, during 2011, were frozen asparagus a! nd frozen! corn.

The Company competes with Hebei Liyuan, Foodwell Corporation, Weifang Langdong Food Co. Ltd., Yuyao Hongji Food Co. Ltd. and Yantai Pengshun Food Co. Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Truth be told, were it just today's 11% pop from American Lorain Corporation (NYSEMKT:ALN), it might not even be worth mentioning. It's not just today's 11% rally from ALN, though, that's made this stock so interesting. It's everything that's happened up until this point that may mean American Lorain deserves a spot at the top of your watchlist, if not in your portfolio.

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: Danone SA (BN)

Danone SA is a France-based food company that primarily produces fresh milk products, baby foods, biscuits, cereal products and medical nutrition products. It also co-produces bottled water. The Company's portfolio of brands and products include Danone, a brand of fresh dairy products; Evian, a brand of bottled still water; Volvic, its international brand of bottled still water, and Aqua, a brand of packaged water in Indonesia. It has presence in the infant food market in France through its subsidiary, Bledina. It has also developed two probiotic dairy product lines known under the names Actimel, and Activia, as well as a line of low-fat products under the names Taillefine, Vitalinea and Ser. The Company operates through numerous subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and Americas. In February 2013 it acquired majority stake in Centrale Laitiere SA. In May 2013, it acquired an equity interest of over 90% in Happy Family, a baby food producer. In August 2013, it acquired YoCrunch. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Danone SA (BN) declined 1.6 percent to 56.34 euros after saying baby-nutrition sales will fall in Asia in the third quarter. The company said it had to recall infant-formula products after milk-powder supplier Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. warned of a contaminated ingredient.

Top 10 Food Companies To Own In Right Now: Ten Peaks Coffee Company Inc (TPK)

Ten Peaks Coffee Company Inc. (Ten Peaks) is a Canada-based company. It operates its business through its subsidiary, Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company Inc. (SWDCC), which is a green coffee decaffeinator located in Burnaby, British Columbia. It also owns and operates Seaforth Supply Chain Solutions Inc. (Seaforth), a green coffee handling and warehousing business located in Metro Vancouver. SWDCC is engaged in the coffee decaffeination business utilizing the branded Swiss Water Process of 100% chemical free green coffee decaffeination. SWDCC has two subsidiaries, which include Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Co. USA, Inc, and Swiss Water Process Marketing Services Inc. On November 18, 2011, a subsidiary of Ten Peaks, Seaforth Supply Chain Solutions Inc., was incorporated. On January 1, 2011, in response to changes to the legislation governing the taxation of income trusts which made the income trust form of structure less advantageous, the Fund converted to a corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Travis Perkins Plc (TPK) lost 1.6 percent to 1,749 pence. The builders��merchant said its consumer division failed to grow on a comparable basis in the third quarter, slipping from an 8.6 percent increase in the two months ended June.