By Reuben Gregg Brewer – May 3, 2026 at 12:15PM EST
Key Points
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Coca-Cola is performing well in a difficult market, which should attract conservative investors.
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General Mills is working through an investment year, which is normal but clearly worrying investors.
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Hormel Foods is deeply out of favor even though its turnaround is starting to show early signs of promise.
Coca-Cola continues to do well
Coca-Cola is one of the world’s largest consumer staples companies. It is a Dividend King, having rewarded investors with over 50 annual dividend increases. The dividend yield is currently 2.6%, well above the market’s 1.1% yield and the 2.1% average for the consumer staples sector. The real draw, however, is the company’s strong business performance despite the difficult market environment.
In 2025, Coca-Cola grew its case volume by 1% and increased its organic sales by 5%. In the first quarter of 2026, case volume increased by 3% and organic sales rose 10%. Wall Street is aware of how well Coca-Cola is doing, so the stock isn’t exactly cheap. But the stock doesn’t look particularly expensive, either, with both the price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios slightly below their five-year averages. A fair price for a well-run company with a relatively attractive yield is ly a good long-term opportunity for more conservative dividend investors.
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NYSE: KO
Coca-Cola
Today’s Change
(-0.18%) $-0.14
Current Price
$78.61
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$338B
Day’s Range
$78.04 – $79.64
52wk Range
$65.35 – $82.00
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
17M
Gross Margin
61.82%
Dividend Yield
2.62%
General Mills knew it would be a tough year
General Mills is three-quarters of the way through fiscal 2026. Before the fiscal year even began, it told investors it would be an investment year as the company faced industrywide and company-specific headwinds. That’s exactly what has happened, with organic sales off by 3%, gross margin lower by two percentage points, and adjusted earnings off by 25% through the first nine months of the fiscal year.
But General Mills reaffirmed its full-year guidance, so the plan it has in place is still on track. Even so, investors are worried, and the dividend yield is a historically high 7%. That’s a long-term opportunity for more aggressive investors.
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NYSE: GIS
General Mills
Today’s Change
(-1.67%) $-0.59
Current Price
$34.72
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$19B
Day’s Range
$34.52 – $35.87
52wk Range
$34.04 – $55.46
Volume
6.9M
Avg Vol
8.9M
Gross Margin
33.05%
Dividend Yield
7.03%
The company has paid a dividend for 127 years. While it doesn’t increase every year, the trend has been for a generally higher payment over time. From a big picture perspective, General Mills is going through a normal period of adjustment as it reworks its brand portfolio to better align with consumer trends. It is totally normal for food makers to do this, and decades from now, fiscal 2026 will ly look little more than a blip.
Hormel Foods’ turnaround is gaining traction
Coca-Cola, Hormel Foods is a Dividend King. General Mills, Hormel Foods has a historically high yield of 5.4%. In some ways, it could be a good middle ground between the two other stocks on this list.
Hormel has been in turnaround mode for a few years, facing many of the same issues as General Mills. That said, Hormel’s organic growth has been rising for more than a year. That’s a sign that the actions management has taken are finally starting to gain traction. Earnings are still under pressure, but a business upswing may have begun.
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NYSE: HRL
Hormel Foods
Today’s Change
(-0.65%) $-0.14
Current Price
$21.33
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$12B
Day’s Range
$21.14 – $21.64
52wk Range
$20.32 – $31.86
Volume
3.5M
Avg Vol
4.7M
Gross Margin
15.33%
Dividend Yield
5.46%
What’s particularly interesting about Hormel is its focus on protein. That is very well aligned with current consumer trends, with increased protein intake an important way to help offset the muscle loss that can occur with GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. In addition, the philanthropic Hormel Foundation owns nearly 47% of Hormel’s stock, so the company doesn’t have to worry about appeasing short-term investors on Wall Street. Management can take its time and think long term, which should make most dividend investors happy today and over the decades to come.
Bad times are good times if you have 20 years to invest
The biggest benefit that small investors have is the ability to think long term. Institutional investors can’t do that, since they have boards of directors and performance-conscious customers breathing down their necks. While the “big guys” think about the next day, month, and quarter, you can think about the next decade and buy high-yield stocks Coca-Cola, General Mills, and Hormel. Don’t miss the opportunity that short-term headwinds are offering up to long-term investors you.
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About the Author
Reuben Gregg Brewer is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, utilities, REITs, and consumer staples. He is the former director of research at Value Line Publishing, where he rose from mutual fund analyst to equity analyst before leading all research operations. Reuben holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Purchase, a master’s in social work from Columbia University, and an MBA from Regis University. He has been featured as a financial expert on CNBC and in the Financial Times, Barron’s, and InvestmentNews.
Stocks Mentioned
Coca-Cola
NYSE: KO
$78.62
(-0.18%)-$0.15
General Mills
NYSE: GIS
$34.72
(-1.67%)-$0.59
Hormel Foods
NYSE: HRL
$21.33
(-0.65%)-$0.14
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
Sumber Artikel:
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