When it comes to defensive plays in stock markets, consumer staples stocks are among the most sought-after investments. Characterized by steady growth, inflation protection, dividend certainty, and resilience against hard economic times, the sector encompasses essential products and services that are not highly vulnerable to economic turmoil.
Current economic challenges, including rising unemployment and inflation, have reduced consumer spending on discretionary items. On December 5, McKinsey & Company published an update on consumer sentiment during the recent holiday season. The report suggested that, despite a slight inclination toward semi-discretionary seasonal buying, consumers are prioritizing spending on essentials to navigate economic and financial uncertainties.
This makes it a bit challenging for businesses within this sector to keep up with evolving consumer demand, which now seeks more value for money. In that regard, Deloitte recently conducted a survey for its 2026 Consumer Products Outlook, published on January 8. As per the survey results, 77% of executives are now focusing their innovative spending on offerings that attract value-seeking consumers. Moreover, 68% of executives are looking into selling more through value-oriented channels.
These factors are expected to drive attention towards consumer staples stocks across a variety of underlying verticals. Precisely, the mid-cap segment will offer some interesting opportunities given its lower valuation multiples compared with large caps and greater potential for growth.
With that background, let’s explore our 12 Most Promising Mid-Cap Consumer Staples Stocks Under $100.
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Our Methodology
To identify relevant stocks for this article, we began by screening U.S.-listed companies within the consumer staples sector having market capitalizations between $2 billion and $10 billion. We then added a filter to include companies with share prices above $5, in order to avoid penny stocks.
In the final part of the screening, we identified companies with at least 20% upside potential based on TipRanks consensus. We then selected 12 stocks with the highest upside as of January 9 and ranked them in ascending order.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
12. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM)
Sector/Industry: Consumer Staples (Farm Products)
Share Price: $73.69
Potential Upside: 22.1%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) is one of the most promising mid-cap consumer staples stocks under $100.
On January 8, Pooran Sharma from Stephens reiterated his stance on Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) with an equal weight rating. He lowered the price target on the stock from $95 to $85, implying 15% upside.
The analyst referred to the company’s Q2 earnings that, despite beating consensus targets, were significantly lower compared to the same period last year. He noted declining egg prices being the primary reason, after touching multi-year highs during the past spring season. For the near- and intermediate-term, he anticipates continued concerns regarding oversupply of eggs, along with added pressure from a seasonal drop in demand. Having said that, Sharma still has confidence in the long-run earnings durability of the business.
On January 7, Benchmark Co. analyst Ben Klieve reiterated his Buy rating on Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM). He estimated a price target of $100, which results in an upside of almost 36%.
Klieve also based his ratings on second-quarter results, which saw the company delivering margins and earnings that beat the estimates. He highlighted a stable pricing structure across the premium Specialty Egg segment, which stayed resilient despite a huge drop in Egg prices.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) is the largest fresh shell eggs company in the United States, which is involved in the production, packaging, and distribution of eggs and egg products. Their ready-to-eat offerings include protein pancakes, egg wraps, and other byproducts. They distribute their products through grocery stores, supermarkets, club stores, and foodservice distributors.
