Chocolate Helps Your Brain and Your Eyes: Hot Chocolate Stocks

How would you like to participate in this research? The participants were 'forced' to eat chocolate on a regular basis, both white and dark chocolate. According to a recent study by scientists at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, dark chocolate improved visual function and cognitive performance. Unfortunately for white chocolate eaters, the white chocolate didn't have much effect. The dark chocolate benefits are due to what are called cocoa flavanols.



According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are several chocolate stocks that may be worth taking a bite out of. Here are a few that sound tasty.



Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF) is a low cap stock based in Durango, Colorado, which makes and sells caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The stock trades at 12 times forward earnings, and the company pays a delicious yield of 4.4%.



Hershey (HSY) was founded in 1894. It is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and their chocolate chips were brought out in 1928. The stock has forward price to earnings ratio of 17.9, with a scrumptious yield of 2.5%.



The famous Nestle (NSRGY.PK) company sports a forward P/E of 14.8 and yields 3.3%. This Swiss chocolate manufacturer has been around since 1867.



If you want to see a list of all the publicly traded chocolate and candy stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list, which includes five companies that pay dividends, can be downloaded, updated, and sorted.



Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.



By Stockerblog.com

Sugar Stocks are Sweet

Sugar production actually started in India in ancient times, where sugarcane juice was turned into granulated crystals. Honey was obviously used as a sweetener in other areas of the world back then. Did you know that Christopher Columbus brought the first sugarcane cuttings to the New World? Now Brazil has the highest per capita production of sugar in the world. One growing byproduct of sugar production for food is fuel for energy such as ethanol.

Unfortunately, there are not too many sugar production companies that are publicly traded, but there are several that use sugar in their candy and chocolate products. Imperial Sugar Co. (IPSU) is a processor and marketer of refined sugar in several formats, including granulated, powdered, and liquid. The stock trades on NASDAQ at seven times forward earnings and pays a yield of 0.7%.

Cosan Ltd. (CZZ), based in Brazil, is one of the largest growers and processors of sugarcane in the world and the largest ethanol producer in Brazil from sugarcane. This New York Stock Exchange (NYX) traded company trades at 9.3 times forward earnings and pays a decent yield of 2%.

If you think the price of sugar is going up, but you don't want to invest in commodities directly, you might want to consider the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index Exchange Traded Note (SGG), which attempts to replicate the Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index. This ETN, which also trades on the NYSE, has a one year total return of over 25%.

The other alternative is investing in companies that use sugar in their products, such as The Hershey Company (HSY), Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (TR), and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (RMCF). To see a free down-loadable list of all the candy and chocolate stocks, which can be updated and sorted, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Chocolate Cough Medicine

What is it about chocolate and medical cures? Chocolate benefits keep appearing regularly. It supposedly reduces wrinkles and aging according to Barry Callebaut AG (BYCBF.PK) the large chocolate maker, and it is even good for your liver. Chocolate has even helped Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B) stock portfolio.

Now British scientists are working on developing a persistent cough remedy made out of chocolate. A company called SEEK, which is not publicly traded, is working on creating a drug called BC1036 which utilizes theobromine, a major ingredient in chocolate and cocoa.

Fortunately, there are several stocks with a significant exposure to chocolate, a few with dividends. Here are a couple that may be worth sinking your teeth into.

Hershey (HSY), founded in 1894 is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and their chocolate chips were released in 1928. The stock has a price to earnings ratio of 22, a forward PE of 17, with a delicious yield of 2.7%. It sports a price earnings growth ratio of 2.14.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF) based in Durango, Colorado, which makes and markets caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The P/E is 15.4, and the company pays a very tasty yield of 4.2%.

If you want to see a free Excel list of all the publicly traded chocolate stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com