Fed chair Jerome Powell helped reassure markets yesterday, stating the current path of monetary policy shouldn’t be affected despite rising tariff concerns.

That said, Powell acknowledged that President Trump's tariff policies are contributing to inflation and could delay progress in reducing it. Keeping this in mind, investors may still be eying defensive positions in the portfolio, with the consumer staples sector starting to stand out.

Notably, several consumer food and beverage stocks have made their way onto the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list and have hovered near 52-week peaks amid recent market volatility.

Pilgrim’s Pride – PPC

Carving out a niche in the prepared foods category, Pilgrim’s Pride PPC stock is up +15% in 2025 and has now soared +130% in the last two years. Keeping investors engaged is that despite the extensive rally, Pilgrim’s stock trades at just 9.5X forward earnings and has continued to expand internationally as a provider of frozen, fresh, and value-added chicken products.

In addition to its strong buy rating, PPC checks an overall “A” VGM Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.Zacks Investment Research

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Primo Brands Corporation – PRMB

Focusing on healthy hydration, Primo Brands Corporation PRMB has a portfolio of packaged branded beverages that are distributed across more than 200,000 retail outlets. As a beverage distributor in every state and Canada, the company’s brands include Poland Spring, Pure Life, Saratoga, and Mountain Valley among others.

Primo Brands stock is up +4% year to date and has also soared over +100% in the last two years. Trading just over $30, PRMB shares are at a reasonable 20.4X forward earnings multiple and offer a respectable 1.25% annual dividend.

More intriguing, is that earnings estimate revisions have spiked over the last 60 days with Primo Brands expected to post high double-digit EPS growth in fiscal 2025 and FY26.Zacks Investment Research

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Premier Foods – PRRFY

Rounding out the list is Premier Foods PRRFY, a distributor of food and beverage products in the United Kingdom and other European countries. At $12 a share, the risk to reward appears to be favorable with PRRFY trading at 13.3X forward earnings. This is a pleasant discount to its Zacks Food-Miscellaneous Industry average of 16.1X with the S&P 500 at 21.4X.

Expecting 7% EPS growth in FY25 and FY26, Premier Foods stock offers a modest 0.79% annual dividend. Plus, EPS estimates for FY25 and FY26 are slightly up in the last 30 days with PRRFY rising +5% YTD and sitting on +50% gains over the last two years.

Story Continues

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Conclusion & Final Thoughts

During an economic downturn, the demand for food, beverages, and other essential products and services remains constant or can even see an uptick while other areas of the economy experience a slowdown.

While Jerome Powell’s rhetoric was reassuring, more market volatility could still be ahead due to tariff concerns which makes these top consumer food and beverage stocks very attractive at the moment.

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Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC):Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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