Stocks are falling but investors are still nibbling on food names
SDI Productions

Investors are nibbling on food names as they take a defensive positioning into dividend-paying stocks and companies seen being more recession-proof.
On Wall Street, analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC) on Monday and said that while relative valuation levels for consumer staples stocks, in general, look daunting, food stocks are still attractive on a valuation basis for investors. The firm is positive on the food sector with price increases seen being larger and longer lasting than previously thought, which should support margins even after input costs subside.
Food-related gainers in mid-day trading on Monday included Calavo Growers (CVGW) +4.15%, BRF S.A. (BRFS) +4.20%, Weis Markets (WMK) +3.11%, United Natural Foods (UNFI) +2.88%, SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) +2.73%, Kraft Heinz (KHC) +2.66%, J.M. Smucker (SJM) +2.61%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) +2.39%, Campbell Soup (CPB) +1.99%, Conagra Brands (CAG) +1.95%, Flowers Foods (FLO) +1.88%, General Mills (GIS) +1.71%, and Kroger (KR) +1.67%.
The Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ) has been an outperformer this year and is showing a gain of 1.19% on Monday even with the broad market in negative territory.
See a list of the highest rated food stocks by Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.