The Canadian food stocks we’ve dug up have harvested significant capital appreciation over the past three years
SmallCapPower | August 15, 2019: The size of the food industry is massive; since there’s no way to live without food, demand will always exist. This makes food stocks generally stable and usually recession proof. Today we have identified four Canadian food stocks that have rewarded investors with strong returns over a three-year period.
*Share prices as at close Tuesday, August 13, 2019, data obtained from S&P Capital IQ
Empire Company Limited (TSX:EMP.A) – $36.43
Food Retail
Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Empire Company Limited is a food retailing company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sobeys Inc. Empire’s investments also include a 41.5% equity interest in Crombie REIT, a Canadian real estate investment trust that currently owns a portfolio of retail and office properties across Canada. On July 24, Empire Company Limited announced the next four locations for the expansion of FreshCo, its discount banner, into Western Canada. With these four locations in Saskatchewan, the Company has now confirmed 22 of ~65 locations in Western Canada.
- Market Cap: $9.9B
- YTD Return: 27.8%
- 3 Year Return: 69.1%
- 90 Day Average Trading Volume: 460,000
MTY Food Group Inc. (TSX:MTY) – $63.88
Restaurants
MTY Food Group franchises and operates quick-service restaurants and under 58 banners in 5,500 locations, as of July, across Canada, the U.S., and internationally. The restaurant locations can be found in food courts, street fronts, and other non-traditional formats (gas stations, convenience stores, etc). On July 18, MTY Food Group Inc declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, payable on August 15, 2019, to shareholders of records at the end of the business day on August 2, 2019. The Company has a 1.04% dividend yield.
- Market Cap: $1.6B
- YTD Return: 4.48%
- 3 Year Return: 59.7%
- 90 Day Average Trading Volume: 60,000
Restaurant Brands International Inc. (TSX:QSR) – $99.12
Restaurants
Restaurant Brands International operates and franchises quick-service restaurants. The Company operates through Tim Hortons, Burger King, and Popeyes. Tim Hortons offers primarily coffee and baked goods under the Tim Hortons brand name, primarily fast food hamburgers under the Burger King brand, and primarily chicken under the Popeyes brand name. At the beginning of 2019, the Company operated ~4,846 Tim Hortons restaurants, ~17,769 Burger King restaurants, and 3,102 Popeyes restaurants in ~100 countries.
- Market Cap: $23.4B
- YTD Return: 40.9%
- 3 Year Return: 59.6%
- 90 Day Average Trading Volume: 1,930,000
Premium Brands Holding Corporation (TSX:PBH) – $90.92
Packaged Foods and Meats
Premium Brands Holdings operates as an investment platform that invests in food manufacturers of specialty foods and wholesalers of differentiated food products. PBH focuses on food businesses that cater to niche markets, avoiding competition with larger, multi-national food distribution companies. On August 13, Premium Brands Holdings Corporation announced its results for the second quarter of 2019. These results featured revenue of $945.4M, an increase of 21.7% from the previous quarter, and net income of $31.2M, an increase of 212% from the previous quarter.
- Market Cap: $3.4B
- YTD Return: 19.6%
- 3 Year Return: 47.9%
- 90 Day Average Trading Volume: 110,000
Disclosure: Neither the author nor his family own shares in any of the companies mentioned above.
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