Sometimes, you've got to force yourself to separate a stock from the company behind it. Case in point: McCormick (NYSE:MKC), a leading purveyor of seasonings with a growing packaged-food business. It's a fine company -- good brands, consistent demand, and a favorable return on capital -- but the stock just doesn't compel me.
McCormick's had a tough time finding growth. Total revenue rose just 2% this quarter (up 3% in local currency terms), and volumes were soft. That's partly due to the company's desire to exit less profitable business arrangements, but it may also point to a dearth of underlying growth in the business. In segment operating profits, the combined results from McCormick's consumer and industrial businesses were essentially flat, excluding the impact of stock compensation expenses.
All the same, McCormick is not content to merely muddle through. The company aims for growth through acquisitions, and it just announced its latest purchase. For about $97 million in cash, it will buy Epicurean International, the company behind the Thai Kitchen and Simply Asia brands. Though the purchase price was a bit high (a double-digit multiple of EBITDA), the brands have grown well recently, and McCormick should be able to significantly boost their nationwide distribution.
I'm normally critical of acquisition strategies, but I can see the logic here. McCormick's acquisition of Zatarain's has proved fruitful, and there's plenty of room for the company to add brands and businesses in the packaged-food category. Even if they're sacrificing taste and nutrition in the process, people like the convenience of these products.
As a supplier to the likes of McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) and PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), McCormick has a very good business. Unfortunately, the stock just isn't cheap. Even granting it a better-than-average discount rate, in acknowledgement of its return on capital and brand value, doesn't produce a target price with any real spice to it. At the right price, this would be my favorite kind of boring business. But at today's prices, I'm not feeling the love.
For more spicy Foolishness:
- Smucker's Lip-Smacking Quarter
- Looking for Leverage With Unilever
- Does McCormick Tickle the Tongue?
- Dirt Cheap Dream Stocks
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
