Why Flowers Foods Is a Retiree's Dream Stock
Safe, consistent, income growth –- that's what retirees like to see in their investments. What they don't want is drama for their equities, meaning they want dependable white-bread type investments. What could be more white bread than Flower Foods (NYSE: FLO), which produces Wonder bread and other well-known bakery brands?
The company's shares are up nearly 8% over the past 12 months, and nearly 5% so far this year. That's nothing spectacular considering how well the overall market has done, but what you get with Flowers is consistency. the stock's five-year beta -- a measure of the stock's volatility versus the S&P 500 -- is just 0.280. In layman's terms, Flower Foods stock is 72% less likely to fluctuate and exhibit volatile behavior when compared to the broader market over the long run. What's also predictable is the company's commitment to a dividend.
It has paid out a dividend for 74 consecutive quarters and has raised its dividend each year since the company began having one in 2002. In February, Flowers raised its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.20 a share, which works out to a yield of 3.3%. Over the past decade, it has raised its dividend 200%.
Source Fool.com
