Fortune Brands, Inc. (FO)

Recent Increase in Caps to 5 star. Beaten up over the past 12 months.

Fortune has some great brands that should maintain their leadership positions for years to come -- Titleist, Moen, Masterlock, Canadian Club and Jim Beam. I missed the bottom in March, but this still looks like a great company at a reasonable value, as it trades at less than half of what it was two years ago.

Diversification is good. They are involved entirely with quality, name brand products. Liquor, Golf, and Faucets... These are things that people are not likely to give up on any time soon.

as long as housing keeps up the posaitive surprises this should move along with it.

Great brands with east to beat comps!

I am sorry, but there is absolutely no way I could put a red thumb on the maker / purveyor of Jim Beam. This is a recession, people look for cheap entertainment, why not a nice tall glass of your favorite brown liquor?

I find their product mix to be very fascinating. Controlling well known brands such as Jim Beam, Courvoisier, Sauza, Titleist, Footjoy, Master Lock, and Moen faucets. These brands are both credible and dominant in the marketplace and I don't see any weakness in any of the brands mentioned.

this stock will recover nicely once the economy starts revving up. Home hardware, golf, wine - what more could you ask for? Oh, and solid brand names all.

Booze, golf and minor plumbing fixture upgrades equals recession elixer.

GOOD BRANDS

GOOD BRANDS

As a long-term investor, I invest in stocks that have a history of paying healthy dividends and yet I am also a value investor, always looking for companies with solid business foundations yet struggling due to the current financial situation; hence resulting in an undervalued stock share price. I got FO actually from the Fool Stock Advisor, and purchased 22 shares at $24.60; I have already made a fat profit just in share price appreciation but I am in this for the long term.

As the Motley Fool advisor said, they are well diversified, and Jim Beam and other sprits still sell well even when the economy is sour, well we all want our escape from financial woes, right? Then when the economy does recouperate then Moen water faucets and Titliest Golf Balls will be selling better since more people will be hitting the greens and building and remodeling homes.

I like Fortune Brands' business strategy of divisersification and this is why I believe you cant go wrong with the FO.

Great company

The home products branch is stumbling, but people still need their tonics, which continues to generate income. Hammered down 70% by the sell off, but will recover.

I am most compelled by the divident yield of 6%, which appears safe based on cash flow and payout ratio. I took the dividend yield and use the rule of having a Lynch number over 2 being a good deal. I assumed the stock will return to $4 per share in earnings over the long run (midpoint in the years before the housing bubble really peaked) and a 10% growth rate. With these assumptions the Lynch number is 2.2.

I am thinking about 7% dividends

Diversified stock and has enough products to come out of this recession in good shape. strong dividend at current levels.

Expect sales to be down sharply for another 3 - 6 months but should come back strong when housing recovers.

I think we all need a drink!

One of Davids picks