Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ) is Severely Overlooked

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) pays the cheapest dividend among the five stocks listed with a yield of 1%. This food company also has the highest P/E at 22x and the lowest 5-year expected earnings growth rate (6%). This puts its PEG well above 3.0, making JJSF one of the most expensive food stocks on a valuation basis. Despite weak interest from hedge funds, billionaire Jim Simons is still one the big-name J&J investors (check out Jim Simons’ top picks).

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) is one of the more intriguing stability plays in the industry with a 0.1 beta and a high dividend yield of 3.2%. An industry-low debt ratio of 36% is another reason why General Mills could be a solid portfolio addition. Holding General Mills back, though, is its industry-high P/S of 1.6x and P/E of 15x. Billionaire Ray Dalio took added General Mills to his portfolio last quarter (see Ray Dalio’s biggest bets).

Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), meanwhile, pays a solid dividend yield of 3.1% The stock sports a P/E ratio of 17x – above its top dividend-paying competitor General Mills, but Kellogg’s debt ratio is over 50%. Billionaire Steve Cohen dumped almost his entire stake of Kellogg last quarter, shedding 90% of his shares (check out Steve Cohen’s top picks).

Kraft is now focused on North American operations and pays a superb dividend yield of 4.4%. Of course, holding Kraft back is its high valuation – 1.4x sales and 17x forward earnings – and industry-low 5-year expected earnings growth of only 6%. Billionaire Ken Griffin – founder of Citadel Investment Group – was a big shareholder jumping into Kraft with a new position of 1.7 million shares in 3Q (check out Ken Griffin’s new picks).

We believe that Mondelez is one of the top foods stocks available, offering investors a solid dividend and robust growth at a very good price. Driving this is Mondelez’s top-notch balance sheet and solid profitability (14% operating margin). With over $3.8 billion in cash, the food company also has solid prospects for future acquisitions and dividend increases.

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