More premium brands to boost your value

Article Excerpt

In the past few years, increasingly health-conscious consumers have cut their alcohol use. In light of stagnating volume sales, brewer Molson Coors and distiller Diageo continue to shift their focus to premium brands. They generate higher profits to help drive your gains. The move should also give both firms the cash to further reward investors with regular hikes to dividend income. Still, Molson, due to its lower p/e, is now your better choice. MOLSON COORS BREWING CO., $51, is a buy. Investors gain direct exposure to one of the world’s largest beer brewers (New York symbol TAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 216.2 million; Market cap: $11.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com). Its main brands include Molson Canadian (Canada), Coors Light (the U.S.) and Carling (the U.K.). Molson continues to launch new beverages in response to slowing sales of its traditional beer brands. Those include premium beers, wines and a coffee drink. It will also offer investors…