On occasion, even when a company turns in a solid performance, an outside force comes along and steals the glory. Just ask beverage purveyor Diageo (NYSE:DEO). In a move that has me scratching my head, shares of Diageo have been steadily sliding since the company announced last month that strength in the British pound against the U.S. dollar and two other currencies would impact year-end results by $100 million.
The greenback certainly has lost some purchasing power against its British counterpart over the last few years. But, just as it makes little sense to jump on board a stateside company that reports robust earnings because of currency fluctuations, it also makes little sense to abandon shares of a European firm that takes a short-term hit for the same reason.
An argument can be made that Diageo is simply sinking with the general market or that investors just haven't gained faith in the company's new structure. With the company's sale of Pillsbury to General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Burger King to a private equity group, and acquisition of Seagram's spirits and wine business, the company has had a number of moving parts the last couple of years. However, all of this maneuvering was done with the vision of having the company focused on the one industry it felt is its strongest: premium beverages. To that end, Diageo's business looks as strong as a double shot of Johnnie Walker.
Diageo has many of the qualities that I admire in Boston Beer Company (NYSE:SAM), such as high returns on equity, prodigious amounts of free cash flow, and frequent share repurchases at sensible prices. However, such strengths are common among some of Diageo's other sinful brethren, such as Brown-Forman (NYSE:BFB), Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO), and Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD).
For investors, Diageo currently separates itself from this pack with its below-average P/E and a near 4% dividend yield. This large yield and attractive valuation also earned Diageo an Income Investor recommendation earlier this year.
Diageo has had its ups and downs of late, but with shares currently priced near happy-hour-special levels, Diageo offers up an interesting opportunity to invest in a broad spectrum of cash-generating, globally recognized brands at a rather affordable price.
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Fool contributor Nathan Parmelee does not own shares in any of the company's mentioned.
