Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014

Last week we focused on five can't-miss earnings reports. This week, we're going to turn the tables back to the Food and Drug Administration and focus on a PDUFA decision and an FDA panel review slated for this week.

Veloci-Raptor time?
First up is Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP  ) with Procysbi (previously known as RP-103), its oral delayed and extended-release medication to treat nephropathic cystinosis. In trials, Procysbi proved to be non-inferior to the only other FDA-approved treatment for nephropathic cystinosis, known as Cystagon from Mylan (NASDAQ: MYL  ) .

As my Foolish colleague Keith Speights has already pointed out, both Procysbi and Cystagon are two different forms of cysteamine bitartate. However, Cystagon comes with the need to be taken four times daily (meaning sleep schedules can and will get interrupted) and has a slew of other potential side effects. Procysbi, on the other hand, needs only to be taken twice daily and has milder side effects.

Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Watch Right Now: Terra Nitrogen Company L.P.(TNH)

Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. engages in the production and sale of nitrogen fertilizer products for agricultural and industrial applications. The company primarily offers anhydrous ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate solutions. Its customers for fertilizer products include dealers, national farm retail chains, and distributors. Terra Nitrogen GP Inc. serves as the general partner of the company. Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. was founded in 1991 and is based in Deerfield, Illinois. Terra Nitrogen Company, LP. operates as a subsidiary of Terra Industries Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Much of the pessimism about PotashCorp has come from two factors. Slower growth in key fertilizer markets China and India have held back the potash producer, as prices for the commodity have fallen from past levels. Meanwhile, lower prices for natural gas have encouraged greater use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, with Terra Nitrogen (NYSE: TNH  ) and a host of other nitrogen-fertilizer producers benefiting at the expense of PotashCorp and other potash producers.

• [By Robert Rapier] While the MLP space is dominated by the oil and gas sector, in last week’s article we began to explore some of the more exotic master limited partnership offerings. This week we continue our exploration of nontraditional MLPs by looking at the partnerships supplying fertilizer.
  
  Rentech (Nasdaq: RTK) has been around for more than a decade, and it has shifted strategies several times. Full disclosure: Rentech’s Chief Technology Officer Harold Wright is a former manager of mine when we were both at ConocoPhillips, and I have visited Rentech’s facility in Commerce City, Colorado.
  
  For most of Rentech’s existence, the company has sought to commercialize alternative fuels. At one time it had ambitions to build a large coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant, but federal legislation ultimately nudged it instead into the biomass-to-liquids (BTL) space. The company did build a BTL demonstration plant, but ultimately shut it down and has now refocused its efforts on becoming “one of the largest wood processing companies in the world.”
  
  During its interesting journey as a company, Rentech acquired two ammonia nitrogen fertilizer facilities, which turned out to be a profit center that funded the alternative energy research. In November 2011, Rentech spun off this fertilizer business into an MLP called Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (NYSE: RNF).
  
  In the months leading to the spin-off, RTK’s market capitalization was about $200 million. Rentech maintained 60 percent ownership of RNF, and three months after the spin-off RTK’s market cap had risen to $400 million, while investors had bid RNF up to $1 billion. Interestingly, RTK’s share of RNF was worth more than RTK’s entire market cap, a situation that persists. The market currently values Rentech at $482 million, while the valuation of Rentech Nitrogen Partners makes RTK’s 60 percent stake in RNF worth slightly more than $600 million — another illu

Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014: Nestle SA (NESN.VX)

Nestle SA is a Swiss Company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. It is also active in the pharmaceutical sector. It divides its products into Powdered and liquid beverages, Water, Milk products and Ice cream, Nutrition, Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Confectionery, PetCare and Pharmaceutical products. In February 2011, the Company acquired CM&D Pharma Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Calia]

  Post Holdings Inc.(POST) agreed to acquire the PowerBar and Musashi brands from Nestle SA(NESN.VX), further expanding the cereal maker’s position in the active nutrition category.

Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets.

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlands. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  As mentioned, Kroger is still swallowing Harris Teeter and has said it needs time to make more acquisitions. Royal Ahold (NASDAQOTH: AHONY  ) is also said to be leery about doing large acquisitions these days, while Cerberus recently finished acquiring the Albertsons and Acme chains from SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) �for $3.3 billion.

Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM)

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (Sprouts), incorporated on January 27, 2011, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic food focusing on health and wellness. The Company offers fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, grocery, meat and seafood, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, body care and natural household items. The Company�� product offerings focus on fresh, natural and organic foods. Natural foods can be defined as foods that are minimally processed and are free of synthetic preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and other additives, growth hormones, antibiotics, hydrogenated oils, stabilizers and emulsifiers. The Company categorize the over 7,000 range of products, it sells as perishable and non-perishable. Perishable product categories include produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery. Non-perishable product categories include grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, dairy and dairy alternatives, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.

The cornerstones of the Company�� business are fresh, natural and organic products. As of July 19, 2013, the Company opened 87 new stores while rebranding 43 Henry�� and 39 Sunflower stores to the Sprouts banner. The Company�� stores include Produce, Bulk Items, Vitamins and Supplements, Grocery, Meat, Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Dairy and Dairy Alternatives, Frozen Foods, Beer and Wine and Natural Health and Body Care.The Company offer its customers a farmers market open-feel environment consisting of an abundant and affordable offering of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, focused on appearance, flavor and value. The Company�� stores include a crafted selection of more than 450 ranges of scoopable nuts, fruits, trail mixes, grains, beans, cereals, coffee, tea, spices, candy and snacks featured in the center of the store. The Company�� stores feature more than 4,200 vitamins, supplements, natural remedies, functional food, lifestyle support, and herbal supplements. This department includes ! an extensive private label offering.

The Company�� grocery offering focuses on healthy options. The Company carries approximately 4,200 natural and organic products in its grocery aisles, including meal components, natural sodas and other beverages, snacks and bars, baking goods, baby, pet and household items such as detergent and paper towels, and earth-friendly mercantile items. The Company�� Olde Tyme Butcher Shops combine sourcing through its trusted supplier network, product variety and old-fashioned customer service. The Company offers a range of seafood favorites delivered up to six days a week. The Conpany feature a range of fresh deli specialties, including sliced deli meat, salads, dips, entrees, side dishes, fresh made to order sandwiches at value prices and an abundant selection of over 200 varieties of cheeses from around the world.

The Company��bakery offering includes artisan bread alongside a wide assortment of sandwich breads, rolls, tortillas, pitas, muffins, cookies and pies as well as sugar free, gluten free and low carbohydrate products. The Company�� dairy department features a selection of organic, natural and regionally sourced milk, yogurt (including Greek, Australian, organic, and soy-based), butter and eggs, as well as a full selection of vegan and vegetarian alternative dairy products. The Company�� freezer cases feature traditional and ethnic natural and organic entrees and side dishes, along with frozen vegetables, desserts and specialty items, such as gluten-free breads and non-dairy ice creams. The Company offers approximately 2,400 natural, cruelty-free health and beauty products, old-fashioned remedies and modern body care innovations, including facial care products and make up, skin, hair, dental, baby care and grooming products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Struggling to combat inroads that new entrants such as Sprouts Farmers Market� (NASDAQ: SFM  ) �are making on its turf, Whole Foods saw its same-store sales rise less than 6% in the organic grocer's fourth quarter, its slowest rate in nearly four years. In contrast, Sprouts saw pro forma comps surge 10% year over year, leading to a 24% increase in total sales from the year-ago period.

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  Curious to see what the competition was doing, we found Safeway (SWY) down 0.1% at $31.67, Supervalu (SVU) down 1.4% at $6.25, and Sprouts Farmers Markets (SFM) up 0.9% at $39.60.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  According to The Wall Street Journal there are three secondary offerings on tap for next week, but no IPOs. The largest of these, Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM), was supposed to price on Thursday, but that was delayed until Monday likely due to the weak earnings report from The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) earlier last week. Sprouts is planning to sell 25.9 million shares. Shares closed at $37.86 on Friday, which would indicate a capital raise of around $975 million.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE: NGVC) and mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) are taking aim at natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM), but do either of these stocks have what it takes to take on the the king of organic retailing? Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin way back in 1978 by a�twenty-five year old college dropout and a twenty-one year old�at a time when there were only a handful of natural or organic�supermarkets in the country. Today, Whole Foods Market�has 364 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom���which are sometimes referred to as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck��given how much it costs to shop there.

Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014: Nestle SA (NSRGY.PK)

Nestle SA is a company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. The Company has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. Nestle is also active in the pharmaceutical sector. It divides its products into nine categories: Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Beverages, Confectionery, Ice cream, Water, PetCare, Milk products, Nutrition and Pharma. It has numerous subsidiaries engaged in various areas of activity, including Alcon Ophthalmika GmbH (Austria), Alcon Bulgaria EOOD (Bulgaria) and Galderma Laboratorium GmbH (Germany) for pharmaceuticals; Novartis Nutrition GmbH (Austria) and Hjem-IS A/S (Denmark) for food and beverages, and Galderma International SAS (France) and Galderma Laboratorium GmbH (Germany) for health and beauty activities. The Company is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. In July 2008, Novartis AG acquired a 25% stake in Alcon, Inc. from Nestle SA. In March 2010, the Company acquired Kraft Foods Inc' frozen pizza business.

In April 2008, L'Oreal and Nestle SA's joint venture, Galderma Pharma S.A., announced that its United States holding company, Galderma Laboratories, Inc., had acquired approximately 97% interest in CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During the year ended December 31, 2004, Nestle had 500 factories in 83 countries around the world. In 2004, 15 factories were acquired or opened and 29 closed or divested.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ong Kang Wei]

  And that, unmistakably, is a brand. Although the value of a brand is intangible and cannot be measured in dollars, it is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. This is what differentiates a product from Coca-Cola (KO), Kraft Foods Group (KRFT), Nestle (NSRGY.PK) or McDonald's (MCD) from just another unknown manufacturer of these very much essential goods and services. In my eyes, brands are as good as a promise to consumers, which differentiates the product from the rest, and promises that the standard of that certain product will be much better than that of another manufacturer. Without this brand that people trust in and are loyal to, there will not be substantial profits and future growth for the company. Do you think Warren Buffett would have bought out Heinz (HNZ) without its world-famous brand name? Definitely not! It would be as good as just another ketchup brand left on the shelf.

• [By Tim McAleenan Jr.]

  I do not mention these things to discourage you from international stocks. I have been purchasing BP (BP) between $39-$43, and I will eventually purchase Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Nestle (NSRGY.PK), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B), and two or three other international companies when the stars line up. My point is that you should not feel an obligation to own international stocks simply for diversification's sake. If you find a good international stock with a business model you understand and it trades at an attractive price, then great. You should buy it. But owning international stocks does not have to be a necessary part of your strategy. Despite what Mankiw advises in the New York Times, you can build a diversified collection of "global stocks" simply by investigating where certain American multinationals generate the bulk of their sales and earnings.

Best Food Stocks To Invest In 2014: McCormick & Company Inc (MKC)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (McCormick) manufactures, markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the food industry, retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. The Company�� sales, distribution and production facilities are located in North America and Europe. Additional facilities are based in China, Australia, Mexico, India, Singapore, Central America, Thailand and South Africa. The Company operates in two business segments: consumer and industrial. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2011, the Company�� consumer business contributed 59% of sales and 79% of operating income and the industrial business contributed 41% of sales and 21% of operating income.

McCormick�� products are sold directly to customers and also through brokers, wholesalers, and distributors. In the consumer segment, products are resold to consumers through a range of retail outlets, including grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount, and drug stores under a range of brands. In the industrial segment, products are used by food and beverage manufacturers as ingredients for their finished goods and by food service customers as ingredients for menu items to enhance the flavor of their foods. Customers for the industrial segment include food manufacturers and the foodservice industry supplied both directly and indirectly through distributors.

Consumer Business

The Company�� brands in the Americas include McCormick, Lawry�� and Club House. The Company also markets brands, such as Zatarain��, Thai Kitchen and Simply Asia. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) its brands include the Ducros, Schwartz and Kamis brands of spices, herbs and seasonings and a line of Vahine brand dessert items. In the Asia/Pacific region its primary brand is McCormick, with the exception of India where its joint venture owns and trades under the Kohinoor brand. The Company�� customers span a variety of retail o! utlets that include grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, served directly and indirectly through distributors or wholesalers. In addition to marketing its products to these customers, the Company is also a supplier of private label items, also known as store brands. More than 250 other brands are sold in the United States with additional brands in international markets.

Industrial Business

In its industrial business, the Company provides a range of products to multinational food manufacturers and foodservice customers. The foodservice customers are supplied both directly and indirectly through distributors. Its range of products include seasoning blends, natural spices and herbs, wet flavors, coating systems and compound flavors. In addition to a broad range of flavor solutions, we strive to achieve customer intimacy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bruce Kennedy]

  (c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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• [By Geoff Gannon]

  If you can choose between owning Sanderson Farms (SAFM) and McCormick (MKC) ��pick McCormick. Spice is just a better product than chicken. Well, ceramic proppant is a really, really good product. It�� the spice of the oil industry.