Buy - Price 35.59 on June 15
by McAdams Wright Ragen

We have added H.J. Heinz to the Focus List -- Value with a $44 price target, based on 14x our fiscal year 20012 (April) estimate of $3.15 per share. Based on today's price, and including the dividend, which currently yields 4.72%, we're targeting a two-year total return of more than 30%. We regard HNZ as an attractively-priced consumer staple, trading at about 13.2x forward earnings, with a high-quality brand portfolio, a loyal customer base, and, in our opinion, an ultra-safe dividend with an above-average yield. Earnings have been buffeted by unfavorable currency-exchange rates, commodity inflation, and the global economic environment. Although management is targeting FY10 (April) earnings growth of 5% to 8% in constant currencies (from $2.90 per share in FY09), the currency impact is likely to shave $0.46 per share from earnings, resulting in reported earnings guidance of $2.60 to $2.70 per share. Market cap: $11.2 billion.

Everyone likes ketchup and mustard.

their dividend will be raised from 41.5 cents to 42.0 cents quarterly, for all shareholders of record as of June 24, 2009 payable July 10, 2009.

Global food giant H.J. Heinz (HNZ), the subject of an upbeat profile in Barron's Jan. 26, Thursday posted a quarterly profit in line with Wall Street's expectations but offered a full-year forecast that fell short of previous estimates. Nonetheless, the 140-year-old Pittsburgh company sweetened its quarterly common dividend a half-cent, to 42 cents a share. This is the sixth consecutive annual hike. The respective distribution, record and ex-dividend dates are July 10, June 24 and June 22. Yield: 4.57%. Dividends have been paid since Heinz went public in 1946. CEO William R. Johnson said the boost "reflects the ongoing confidence of management and...directors in the future of Heinz and our strategy of returning a high percentage of earnings to Heinz shareholders."

I’m looking a Heinz (HNZ), says Pete Najarian. I like the stock for its dividend yield and who doesn't put it on a burger!

Good company with dividends.

Great brands...great dividend yield.

Food makers Heinz and Kraft make our list with their 4.8% and 4.6% dividends, respectively. Heinz is expected to boost its dividend in May -- by a small amount. It has an above-average stable of brands and could be a takeover target, as we argued last month (see "Anticipating the Return of the Ketchup Kid," Jan. 26.)

From a recent Mad Money show:We looked so great Friday. We looked so terrible yesterday. Why is that?
The shorts covered Friday ahead of the bank plan. They knew there was nothing that Tim Geithner could say, not after the buildup, that would keep them from rampaging after, but they had to have the ammo, and they didn't want to have to scramble and double-short.
In other words, they took profits on Friday, and then they came in flying yesterday. They came in with everything, every double-short instrument and every put that could be purchased on the usual suspects, plus they pushed down the S&P and they went after the staples with a vengeance.
To me, the banks were goners no matter what unless Geithner had said, "We love Wells Fargo (WFC) and think it is a $25 stock so we are tendering for it there."
The staples are a tougher call, although they're understandable. We don't have any earnings momentum and we have multiple compression galore, so if Procter & Gamble (PG) has a 13 multiple and a declining earnings profile, why should I keep buying companies that aren't as good, like Heinz (HNZ) and Kellogg (K), especially when Citi says the biggest food price war in history is coming, led by Wal-Mart (WMT), which, by the way, is laying off people!
It didn't help, of course, that we are in a moment where oil has to hold $40 or the ultra bear oil sellers come in with guns blazing taking the group back to the lows.
Not even Intel's (INTC) reckless spending announcement could help!
I think it was overdone. I don't like this market when it is high and overbought, and I do like it when it is low and oversold.
Unfortunately it is neither low enough or oversold enough to make it enticing enough to do anything but pick, but not sell. We've come down enough to eliminate that option.

The food maker was among the most active names on the NYSE Monday.

i love companies with good management but just hate this one...( i do not like ketch ups...