High p/e reflects added risk

Article Excerpt

MCCORMICK & CO. INC. $78 remains a hold. The maker of spices and seasonings (New York symbol MKC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 268.2 million; Market cap: $20.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.93 Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mccormick.com) probably saw its earnings fall 12% to $2.67 a share for fiscal 2022, ended November 30, 2022. That’s due to rising ingredient and other costs, as well as the high U.S. dollar, which weakened the contribution of foreign sales; they supply 40% of sales. Earnings in fiscal 2023 could rebound to $2.93 a share, and the stock trades at 26.6 times that forecast. The p/e is high for a company that tends to use acquisitions to fuel its growth. McCormick is a hold. hold…