DOLE - Winners and losers in the food sector from the latest Nielsen numbers

2023-04-04 14:45:35 ET

A new batch of Nielsen data indicated some recent winners and losers in the battle for market share.

Overall, total packaged food retail sales increased 9.1% year-over-year in the latest four-week period ending March 25 with pricing up 10.5% and volume down 1.3%.

Food companies that saw sequential acceleration over the last four weeks of more than 150 basis points included BellRing Brands ( NYSE: BRBR ), Dole plc ( DOLE ), Mission Produce ( AVO ), and Sovos Brands ( SOVO ).

For the same tracking period, Beyond Meat ( BYND ) saw 21.0% drop in retail sales. The alternative meat seller saw a 22.0% drop over 12 week and 18.6% decline over the last 52 weeks. Lamb Weston ( LW ), Hershey Company ( HSY ), and Kraft Heinz Company ( KHC ).

The food sector has attracted the attention of investors looking to for a more defensive positioning, but is also being watched closely to see how consumers react to higher pricing. The Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF ( PBJ ) is one of the catch-all investments for the food and beverage sector. General Mills ( GIS ), Hershey ( HSY ), and Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) are top holdings for the ETF that has outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the last 52 weeks.

See Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings across the food sector.

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