Play Ketchup With Heinz (HNZ)

H.J. Heinz HNZ reported stronger than expected earnings this morning, and investors may like the taste of it in their portfolio. The maker of ketchup reported first-quarter earnings rose to $240.4 million, or 75 cents a share, from $212.6 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings of 73 cents per share. Revenue came in slightly worse than expected, rising to $2.48 billion. Analysts had expected $2.53 billion in revenues. Heinz was fairly positive on its guidance, saying the company sees EPS growth of 7% to 10%. Adding Heinz to your portfolio won't give you the next high flyer, that's for sure. What it will provide you with is steady growth, a strong dividend, and confidence knowing that when you go to sleep, the stock will be there in the morning. Heinz yields a very healthy 3.9%, much better than the yield on a 10 year U.S. Treasury. Management is also firing on all cylinders, as Heinz's return on equity is over 50%, very high for a consumer staple. Its operating margin is just over 15%, better than the industry average of 12.97%. Gross margin also rose this quarter to 36.6%, as higher pricing in emerging markets helped results. Investors would certainly relish (pun intended) thinking about adding Heinz to their portfolio. Disclosure: no positions in companies mentioned