Campbell’s acquisitions will lift your income

Article Excerpt

Campbell Soup recently announced its second major acquisition in the past five years. While expanding this way adds risk, these new businesses have diversified its product lines and should spur its earnings growth and dividend. CAMPBELL SOUP CO. $41 is a buy. The company (New York symbol CPB; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 297.7 million; Market cap: $12.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.campbellsoupcompany.com) sold most of its international and refrigerated-foods businesses in 2018. That let it focus on canned soups, pasta and V8 vegetable juices. Campbell also kept its snack food operations. They were significantly expanded in March 2018 when the company paid $6.1 billion for snack-foods maker Snyder’s-Lance. Campbell last raised your quarterly dividend with the February 2021 payment. Investors now receive $0.37 a share, up 5.7% from $0.35. The new annual rate of $1.48 yields a solid 3.6%. As a result of the Snyder’s-Lance acquisition, Campbell’s sales increased by 7.2%, from $8.11 billion in 2019 to $8.69 billion…