Spicemaker looks pricey after jump

Article Excerpt

MCCORMICK & CO. INC. $163 (New York symbol MKC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 132.5 million; Market cap: $21.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Divd. yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mccormick.com) acquired several condiment brands from Reckitt Benckiser Group plc. in August 2017. They include French’s Mustard, Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce and Cattlemen’s BBQ Sauce. McCormick paid $4.2 billion for those businesses. The stock, which has jumped 70% since that acquisition, now trades at 31.7 times the $5.15 a share that McCormick will probably earn in its current fiscal year, which ends November 30, 2019. That high multiple adds risk, as the stock would likely drop sharply if its sales and earnings fall short of the consensus estimates. The $2.28 dividend yields 1.4%. McCormick is a hold. hold…