5 Best Food Stocks To Own Right Now

The wealth-building power of compound interest will never cease to amaze me. It's a story of patience and attention to detail, where small, short-term differences add up to massive divergence over decades. And in the end, the biggest winners don't always deliver the fattest share-price returns.

Let's take a deeper look at McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) dividend-generation skills.

The fast-food giant just reported (link opens PDF) second-quarter earnings, with both sales and earnings falling slightly short of analyst estimates. Management sees tough times ahead in the second half of 2013 but also reminds investors that the company has "succeeded in a variety of operating and economic environments." All told, investors focused more on the negative short-term outlook than on the promise to come back swinging: McDonald's shares fell as much as 3.2% on the news, making it by far the weakest performer on the Dow (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) today.

What's bad for share prices is generally good for dividend yields. At today's prices, McDonald's offers a generous 3.1% yield. That's comfortably above the Dow's average yield of 2.6%, beating all but eight of its 29 Dow peers.

Top 5 India Companies To Buy Right Now: Safeway Inc.(SWY)

Safeway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. The company operates stores that provide an array of grocery items, food, and general merchandise, as well as features specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral, and pharmacy, as well as coffee shops and fuel centers. It also offers SELECT line of products that include baked goods, sparkling ciders and lemonades, salsas, whole bean coffees, frozen pizzas and entrees, and fresh and dry pastas and sauces, as well as an array of ice creams, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts; O ORGANICS line, which comprises milk, chicken, salads, juices, and entrees; Lucerne line of dairy products; Eating Right line of better-for-you products; Bright Green line of home care products; Total Pet Care line of pet foods and pet care products; and Value Red line of value-priced paper goods. As of December 31, 2009, Safeway operated approximately 1,725 stores in California, Oregon, Wash ington, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba/Saskatchewan. In addition, the company owns and operates GroceryWorks.com Operating Company, LLC, an online grocery channel, doing business under the names Safeway.com, Vons.com, and Genuardis.com; and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., which provides third-party gift cards, prepaid cards, telecom cards, and sports and entertainment cards to North American retailers for sale to retail customers. Additionally, it engages in gift card businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Australia. Further, the company, through a 49% ownership interest in Casa Ley, S.A. de C.V. operates 156 food and general merchandise stores in Western Mexico. The company was formerly known as Safeway Stores, Incorporated and changed its name to Safeway Inc. in February 1990. Safeway was founded in 1915 and is based in Pleasanton, California. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Finally,�Safeway� (NYSE: SWY  ) fell 3.6% after hours after it agreed to be bought by Cerebrus Capital Management for about $9 billion. The deal will unite Safeway with Albertson's, making for a powerful presence in the West. Safeway shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash, and could get as much as $40 after add-ons, but the stock slipped after closing at $39.47 today as investors had expected a deal was coming.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Private equity firm Cerberus has reached a preliminary deal to acquire Safeway (NYSE: SWY) at a reported $40 per share price tag, giving the enterprise an implied value of approximately $9 billion. Cerberus is the parent company of supermarket chain Albertsons. Safeway's board of directors unanimously approved the deal. Albertsons and Cerebrus will pay $32.50 per share in cash, distribute proceeds from the sale of Safeway's real estate assets (estimated at $3.65 per share) and distribute Safeway's 37.8 million share position of Blackhawk Network currently valued at $3.95. The deal comes with a 21-day go-shop period and has a $400 million termination fee. Shares of Safeway lost 1.95 percent, closing at $38.70.

5 Best Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Want Want China Holdings Ltd (WWNTF)

Want Want China Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries are the manufacturing, distribution and sale of rice crackers, dairy products and beverages, snack foods and other products. The Company segments include manufacturing and sale of Rice crackers, including sugar coated crackers, savoury crackers and fried crackers; dairy products and beverages, including flavored milk, yogurt drinks, ready-to-drink coffee, juice drinks, carbonated drinks, herbal tea and milk powder; snack foods, including candies, popsicles and jellies, ball cakes and beans and nuts, and other products, mainly including wine and other food products. Its operations are located in the People�� Republic of China, with the rest located in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. As of December 31, 2011, its subsidiaries included Want Want Holdings Ltd., Long Wave Foods Limited, Want-Want Foods Limited and others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losses early Thursday after hitting a seven-month high in the previous session, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) down less than 0.1%. Most mainland Chinese property developers outperformed the markets, with Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. (HK:2777) (GZUHF) rallying 3.4%, after the company reported a 44% month-on-month jump in sales for June. Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. (HK:0813) (SIOPF) climbed 2.6%, and China Resources Land Ltd. (HK:1109) (CRBJF) rose 1.7%. However, several retailers were weak, as Want Want China Holdings Ltd. (HK:0151) (WWNTF) , the country's top food and beverage maker, declined 2%. Hong Kong-based cosmetics brand Sa Sa International Holdings (HK:0178) (SAXJF) fell 1.6%, with a decline in Chinese June non-manufacturing data helping weigh on some retailers. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) retreated 0.4%, pulling back from its highest close in two weeks.

5 Best Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Wasgau Produktions & Handels AG (MSH)

Wasgau Produktions & Handels AG is a Germany-based retailer and producer of food articles. The Company divides its business activities into the two main segments Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale�� businesses include seven Cash and Carry markets for restaurateurs and wholesale customers, as well as commercial businesses of the holding company WASGAU Produktions & Handels AG, which are supported by its subsidiary WASGAU Dienstleistungs & Logistik GmbH, active within warehouse management and transportation. The Operations within the Retail segment are mainly carried out through Company�� subsidiaries WASGAU Metzgerei GmbH and WASGAU Baeckerei & Konditorei GmbH, which produce and supply its stores with a variety of meats and bakery products, respectively. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated through 24 affiliated companies and subsidiaries located in Germany. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Pimentel]

  The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) �was up 1.2%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) �rose 1.1%.

5 Best Food Stocks To Own Right Now: H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ)

H. J. Heinz Company manufactures and markets food products for consumers, and foodservice and institutional customers in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company primarily offers ketchup, condiments and sauces, frozen food, soups, beans and pasta meals, infant nutrition, and other food products. It sells its products through its sales organizations, independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, cooperative, and independent grocery accounts; convenience stores; bakeries; pharmacies; mass merchants; club stores; foodservice distributors; and institutions, including hotels, restaurants, hospitals, health-care facilities, and government agencies. The company was founded in 1869 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  What kinds of "things," you ask? Among her additional tasks so far have been the creation and arranging of a�meeting aimed at bringing Berkshire's dozens upon dozens of subsidiary CEOs together each year, and Buffett reportedly sent her on a trip to Brazil to learn more about the operations of Brazilian-based 3G Capital after Berkshire teamed with the firm to acquire 50% of ketchup king H.J. Heinz back (NYSE: HNZ  ) in February.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Companies have been experimenting for some time with using their label for further imprinting their brand on our brains. H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) offers up personalized ketchup bottles, but they're more of a limited-run novelty. It also more broadly offers other labels with witty or pithy sayings on them, more reminiscent of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group's fun facts found under their bottle caps than something that would allow a person to identify with a product.

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  7. On the H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) deal: "It was an absolutely fair deal; I didn't have to change anything in the term sheet or the governance arrangement."

• [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.