Most investors save their holiday thinking for the dinner table, not their portfolio. This month, I’d mix the two. Three dividend stocks I’d happily own forever make products that fill out a holiday day, from the morning latte to the dinner rolls to the nightcap.
The timing is what makes them November buys. The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ: MZTI), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), and Brown-Forman (NYSE: BFA) (NYSE: BFB) each have a dividend event on the calendar right now, and two of them are coming off a rough stretch.
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1. Marzetti: The dinner roll king is about to go for 64
You may not know the name, but you’ve probably eaten its food. The former Lancaster Colony makes Sister Schubert’s rolls and New York Bakery breads, plus licensed sauces and rolls for brands like Chick-fil-A and Texas Roadhouse. It’s one of only 12 U.S. companies with 63 straight years of dividend raises, which puts it among the elite Dividend Kings.
The stock has had a rough fall. A cyclospora outbreak hurt demand for its dressings, dips, and croutons last quarter, though management says the impact moderated in recent weeks. Shares sit about 38% below their 52-week high and yield about 3.7%.
Here’s the part I like. On Nov. 16, Chick-fil-A rolls out a spicy version of its signature sauce nationwide, made by Marzetti, and it’s the first new sauce the partners have launched together in about 10 years. It also bought Bachan’s, a Japanese barbecue sauce brand that keeps gaining share in its aisle, and a Tajín-branded dressing line is on the way. Last year, the board announced its raise on the day of the annual meeting, and this year’s meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 11. Meanwhile, Sister Schubert’s is heading into the stretch its CEO says the brand has to “own” — Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2. Starbucks: Get in before the red cups do
Starbucks’ streak is shorter, but it just raised its quarterly dividend for a 16th consecutive year, to $0.63 a share, payable Nov. 27 to shareholders of record on Nov. 13. That makes Thursday, Nov. 12, the last day to buy before the ex-dividend date and still collect the bigger check.
What I keep coming back to is what the company is fixing. U.S. comparable sales rose 7.7% last quarter, and the company closed about 250 underperforming North American cafes in September. It also finished more than 1,700 cafe “uplifts” with more seating and softer lighting, which it says lead to more visits. Management also plans to restart share buybacks in fiscal 2027.
