5 Best Consumer Staples Stocks To Invest In
For stock market investors, the great thing about consumer staples is that they include essential household items (food, beverages, personal care, etc.) that stay in demand regardless of how the economy is doing. This means consumer staples stocks are less vulnerable to volatility — but they aren’t likely to skyrocket in value, either.
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The best consumer staples stocks are those whose brands are established market leaders, generate consistent profits and are not susceptible to sudden drops in revenue based on market or economic forces. You should also seek out stocks that pay regular dividends. What you’re likely to find are global household names that have been around for a century or more.
Here’s a look at the five best consumer staple stocks to invest in right now, along with their ticker symbols.
Coca-Cola Co. (KO)
The iconic soft drink company has been around for more than 130 years and remains a dominant international force with brands that include its namesake beverages along with a couple hundred more. With a market cap of about $258 billion, Coca-Cola ranks as the largest beverage company in the world outside of China, according to Insider Monkey. Coke itself is the world’s biggest soft drink brand, has been for decades, and is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Coca-Cola has a 3.2% dividend yield and 10-year average trailing return of 7.9%, Forbes reported.
Procter & Gamble (PG)
Chances are you have a P&G product somewhere in your house because its brands include Tide, Gillette, Crest and other marquee names. As Motley Fool reported, P&G is nearly 200 years old and many of its large brands rank first or second in market share in categories such as paper products, laundry detergent, diapers and beauty products. P&G continues to innovate and has been deemed a “dividend aristocrat” with a yield of 2.4% and a 10-year average annualized return of 10.5%.
PepsiCo (PEP)
PepsiCo is another soft drink giant that dates to the 19th century. Its flagship product, Pepsi Cola, is the world’s second-biggest soft drink brand by sales behind Coke. Other major PepsiCo brands include Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Mountain Dew and Quaker Foods. Like other companies on this list, PepsiCo continues to use buyouts to grow its market footprint. It boasts a dividend yield of 3.1% and a 10-year average annualized return of 10.5%.
Unilever (UL)
This London-based consumer goods company ranks as the largest producer of soap in the world, according to Forbes, and is also well known globally for brands such as Lipton teas and Ben & Jerry’s ice creams. Motley Fool categorizes Unilever as a turnaround story because of some issues it has had to work out, and the company has been making decent progress in that regard. Unilever boasts a 3.8% dividend yield and a 10-year average annualized return of 5.3%.
Nestle SA (NSRGY)
Switzerland-based Nestle is best known for its chocolate, though it got its start in 1866 as a condensed milk company. As Forbes noted, today Nestle operates in nearly 200 countries, employs more than 330,000 people and operates over 400 factories. In addition to its chocolates and candies, other Nestle brands include Nescafe, Gerber, Purina, Perrier, DiGiorno and Cheerios, so it has a hand in a wide range of markets. For investors, Nestle pays a 3.3% dividend yield and has produced an average 10-year annualized return of 6.2%.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Best Consumer Staples Stocks To Invest In
