Valentine’s Day is here, folks. On Saturday, Feb. 14, millions of couples will give their significant others a special something that shows them just how special they are.
While it’s not a bad idea to buy your partner something even if your relationship is in its early stages, any guy who’s engaged or married should definitely do some V-Day shopping unless they really enjoy the nighttime comfort provided by their living room couch.
Sure, Valentine’s Day is all about love. And according to The Beatles, all you need is love.
But it’s also about retail. And while emotions and investing generally go together like oil and water, here are five Valentine’s day stocks to buy and love for the holiday of passion:
Valentine’s Day Stocks to Buy: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (RMCF)
Market Capitalization: $87 million
There’s nothing like a nice box of chocolates for your loved one on Valentine’s Day. While you probably won’t be hailed as Don Juan incarnate for buying chocolates, the classic confectionery wouldn’t be a staple of Valentine’s Day gifts if it weren’t appreciated.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMCF) stock, while little-known and little-traded, is a fine way to invest in Valentine’s Day spending trends. With stores in 40 states and international locations in countries from Canada to Japan, RMCF sells chocolate (and other confectioneries) on a global scale.
Wall Street’s certainly taken notice, as RMCF stock currently sits at seven-year highs after years of consistent revenue growth. Because Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory essentially operates on a licensee and franchisee model, growth is fairly steady, allowing the small $87 million company to pay a very respectable 3.3% dividend.
If you’re looking for stocks to buy around Valentine’s Day, you could do worse than RMCF.
Valentine’s Day Stocks to Buy: 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (FLWS)
Market Capitalization: $669 million
If 1-800-Flowers.com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS) stock isn’t a good way to play Valentine’s Day, I don’t know what is. In fact, if you were debating between buying, say, $10,000 worth of flowers or $10,000 in FLWS stock last Valentine’s Day, anyone bold enough to do the latter has already been amply rewarded.
The shrewd investor who chose not to blow 10 Gs on flowers and instead bought FLWS stock would have made a cool 90%, and that $9,000 would buy some mighty expensive gifts (if that relationship was still in tact, of course).
By contrast, the floral-obsessed suitor who bought unreasonable sums of flowers for Valentine’s Day last year saw his outpouring of love literally die a week later.
FLWS even does chocolates now, too, after buying Harry & David in September, a premium gift service company that also sells gourmet food baskets. Aided by that acquisition, 1-800-Flowers.com revenues are expected to jump more than 50% this fiscal year, to $1.14 billion.
If you’re not buying flowers, put FLWS on your “stocks to buy” list this Valentine’s Day.
V-Day Stocks to Buy: L Brands Inc (LB)
Market Capitalization: $27.4 billion
Prefer to buy stocks more like your heart — a bit bigger? L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB), unlike the small-cap Valentine’s Day stocks RMCF and FLWS, is a $27 billion company, officially making it a large-cap stock.
Of the stocks to buy for Valentine’s Day, LB stock is a particularly strong one for the amorous investor; the retailer owns both Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works — two brands that should enjoy quite a bit of business from all you lovebugs out there.
Like FLWS stock, LB stock has also trumped the stock market, rocketing more than 70% higher since Valentine’s Day a year ago.
But InvestorPlace Contributor Dana Kobilinsky recently highlighted why LB stock is a buy, regardless of Valentine’s Day. Citing recently raised fourth-quarter guidance, impressive international expansion, market share dominance, and a recently declared special dividend (payable March 6 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 20), it’s not hard to fall in love with L Brands.
V-Day Stocks to Buy: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD)
Market Capitalization: $11.2 billion
Let’s be honest. Valentine’s Day, while overflowing with heart-shaped chocolate arrangements and cute flower arrangements, often tends to get a bit more … intimate as well. If L Brands was a nod in that direction, Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) stock takes it to the next level.
This diversified consumer goods company is like a mini version of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG). CHD makes everything from baking soda and fabric softeners to dietary supplements and chemicals like sodium bicarbonate.
But nobody’s buying specialty chemicals for Valentine’s Day. However, the condoms, lubricant and “vibrating products” in Church & Dwight’s portfolio may get some love this weekend. The Trojan line of condoms is one of CHD’s eight “power brands” in its U.S. consumer business segment.
Up 30% since last Valentine’s Day and boasting a 1.6% dividend yield, CHD is one of the best stocks to buy if you’re long on love.
V-Day Stocks to Buy: Hershey Co (HSY)
Market Capitalization: $22.8 billion
The iconic Hershey, Pennsylvania chocolatier probably loves Valentine’s Day more than a giddy schoolgirl with a crush. For Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), surging demand for its chocolates this time of year is as much a fact of life as death and taxes.
Hershey’s devotes an entire part of its website to Valentine’s Day, where it offers products like personalized Hershey’s Kisses labels, a 7 oz solid milk chocolate Hershey’s Kiss, and velvet heart-shaped chocolate boxes.
You can also send Valentine’s Day e-cards depicting chocolate covered strawberries and other delicious romantic novelties.
While HSY stock probably won’t be quadrupling anytime soon, it pays a healthy 2% dividend and offers steady, consistent growth. While last year saw cocoa prices soar, Hershey’s has a simple solution: raise prices. The company raised prices across all its products last year, and plans to hike them another 5% to 6% in 2015.
As of this writing, John Divine did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him on Twitter at @divinebizkid or email him at editor@investorplace.com.
