The AI stocks no one's talking about (but institutions are quietly buying) (From TradingTips)
Key Takeaways
- As shoppers become more value-conscious, investors may want to look at consumer staples stocks with the pricing power to defend margins.
- These five companies combine brand strength, product mix, and selective price increases as key drivers of earnings growth without premium valuations.
- As mid-cap consumer staples, these names offer a compelling blend of defensive stability, dividend income, and upside potential.
Investors with an appetite for a good comeback story may want to look at consumer staples stocks. With the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLP) almost flat in 2025, it would not take much effort to find beaten-down names in the sector.
Many brands spent 2025 fighting a more value-conscious shopper, and pricing power was no longer a free pass.
That’s exactly why 2026 could set up differently. When a sector underperforms, the best opportunities often show up in companies that can protect margins even as shoppers trade down.
The challenge is avoiding mega-cap names like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), who have earnings potential, but also present a valuation problem.
That leaves the door open for mid-cap stocks. Here are five names that are projected to deliver solid earnings growth, but don’t carry a premium multiple. Some of these names pay an attractive dividend to go along with the potential for stock price appreciation in 2026.
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Hormel Delivers Brand Strength + Private Label Exposure
Hormel Food Corp. (NYSE: HRL) stock fell nearly 25% in 2025. The company was acutely impacted by tariffs, a chicken recall, and a plant fire. All of these weighed on the company’s earnings, which were down 13% for the full year on a year-over-year (YOY) basis.
However, the company is still managing to deliver strong results on the top line, and there are reasons to believe that margins will improve. Specifically, Hormel offers both branded pricing power (SPAM, Applegate, Skippy) and private label manufacturing, which benefits when consumers trade down.
That dual exposure allows Hormel to defend margins even if volume shifts toward value products. Hormel is not just raising prices; it’s capturing wallet share across income tiers.
Analysts forecast earnings growth of approximately 11.5% in the next 12 months.
That would support the consensus price target of $28.20, which is over 28% above the HRL stock price on Jan. 6. Even if investors have to wait a couple of quarters for growth, they still own a dividend king that has increased its dividend, which currently yields 5.12%, for 60 consecutive years.
Conagra: Portfolio Simplification = Pricing Leverage
Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is another company that had a disastrous year in terms of stock price performance. CAG stock dropped by over 37% for the year, affected by the government shutdown and the focus on SNAP benefits.
Analysts are forecasting about 5.5% earnings growth for CAG stock in 2026, but that may be too low.
For its part, Conagra’s ongoing brand rationalization, fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), has sharpened its focus on higher-margin, higher-velocity categories (frozen meals, snacks, shelf-stable staples).
By focusing on fewer, stronger brands, Conagra can strengthen its negotiating power with retailers and implement targeted price increases while offsetting softer volumes through mix improvements.
Analysts forecast 19% upside for CAG stock, which has a favorable valuation to go along with a dividend of 8.4% as of this writing.
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Lamb Weston: Frozen Foods + Foodservice Mix
Continuing with the theme of beaten-down sector stocks, Lamb Weston (NYSE: LW) checks in with a loss of about 34% in 2025. With slight growth in revenue and earnings on a YOY basis, Lamb Weston didn't perform poorly in a financial sense. However, that’s not enough to excite growth-oriented investors. And a 3.66% dividend yield wasn’t enough to make it a worthwhile hold.
However, the company benefits from a unique dynamic: pricing power in frozen retail plus contract-based pricing in foodservice. That blend provides visibility and stability when consumers eat out less or trade down in groceries.
As input costs fluctuate, the company can reprice contracts and adjust portion sizes, formats, and product tiers to protect margins.
The forecast for LW is decidedly bullish. Analysts are projecting YOY earnings growth of over 17% and have a consensus price target of $54.18, which would be a gain of more than 30% from the LW stock closing price on Jan. 6.
Post Holdings: Cereal and Convenience Pricing Power
Good performance is a relative term with consumer staple stocks in 2025. That said, Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST) delivered the least bad performance of the stocks on this list, down about 9.8% in 2025.
Part of that had to do with the company’s position as one of the leading cereal companies. Cereal is a classic “sticky” category, and Post has leaned into brand tiering (i.e., premium, mainstream, and value) to maintain pricing flexibility.
Add in its higher-margin convenience and foodservice exposure, and POST stock can get a tailwind from consumers who still buy staples but change what kind they buy.
Post Holdings is unique to this list in that the company doesn’t pay a dividend.
Analysts project YOY earnings growth of nearly 15% for this name, and the consensus price target of $127.33 is 27% higher than the stock’s closing price on Jan. 6, one of the strongest upsides in the sector.
J.M. Smucker: Brand Equity + Mix Management
The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is an iconic company in the packaged goods space. It’s best known for its namesake fruit spreads, but its portfolio has expanded into many other areas.
In 2025, the company suffered due to its coffee exposure, particularly with the Folgers and Dunkin brands. However, the company has still managed to generate solid revenue even with earnings under pressure.
But the story for 2026 is that Smucker doesn’t rely solely on headline price hikes. Instead, it protects margins through product mix (premium coffee vs. mainstream, branded pet food vs. private label) and incremental price actions. This allows Smucker to defend profitability even when volumes are flat.
SJM stock has a consensus price target of $116.79, which is 21% upside from the company’s closing price on Jan. 6. Plus, the company is a dividend aristocrat with 27 consecutive years of dividend increases to go with a 4.59% yield.
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