Fighting fire with fire is rarely a winning strategy for investors. When markets are volatile and geopolitical tensions are high, it rarely makes sense to invest in speculative assets or risky pre-profit stocks.
Safe-haven precious metals like gold and silver are often used to hedge risk, as are U.S. Treasury bonds (although that strategy may not be as foolproof anymore). Of course, gold and silver offer no interest payments, and bond prices fall when interest rates rise.
Some stock sectors, such as utilities or consumer staples, are sometimes thrown into the safe haven because their products or services have inelastic demand. These are often older, established companies with a long history of returning capital to shareholders.
That’s exactly the type of company we’ll be examining today: dividend-paying consumer staples stocks that are currently undervalued compared to their peers.
Each company selected here has a minimum Benzinga Edge Value Score of 80 and a dividend yield of 2%, with a dividend payout ratio (DPR) of less than 75%.
United Breweries Co.
Benzinga Edge Value Score: 98.14
Compañía Cerveceras Unidas SA (NYSE:CCU)Popularly known as United Breweries, is a company we have mentioned before in this context, and its commitment to rechanneling its revenues is finally being noticed by investors and traders alike. After some payout volatility in recent years, the dividend currently yields 2.8% with a DPR of 58.9%, which is a sustainable figure for a wine and drinks company. The company is mainly active in Chile, but also in South American countries that have been spared (for the time being) from tariffs by the Trump administration. The stock trades at just 16 times earnings and 0.85 times sales, and the chart is now showing some spicy price action as well.
CCU stock is up more than 11% this early in the new year, and there are more than a few signs that upside momentum is accumulating. Last week, a Golden Cross formed on the daily chart as the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) finally rose above the 200-day SMA, regularly triggering a new bull run. This bullish momentum was confirmed by the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator, which shows the MACD and Signal lines crossing above the histogram as they also cross each other. The stock now appears to be consolidating for its next move, and with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) back below 70, there’s a good chance the move is to the upside.
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NuSkin Enterprises Inc.
Benzinga Edge Value Score: 86.96
Health and beauty is a booming industry right now, and NuSkin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) is a Utah-based company focused on the direct sales of health and beauty products under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. The $540 million market cap company uses independent distributors to sell its products and currently sells hair care, skin care and other wellness items in more than 50 countries around the world. Despite its small-cap status, NuSkin is also a dividend payer, with a current yield of 2.08% and a DPR of less than 11%. The company cut its dividend payout from $0.39 to $0.06 in early 2024 after a period of unsustainable payouts, but the current payout leaves plenty of room for future increases.
NUS shares are also breaking out on the daily chart. The price has broken the resistance at the 50-day SMA after a multi-month decline, and the MACD is also trending upwards with a bullish crossover on the histogram. The stock is already up 15% to start the year, so the bullish momentum could be just beginning.
Cresud SACIF and A
Benzinga Edge Value Score: 93.82
It is important to diversify across international borders during periods of geopolitical tension, especially when the aggressor’s calls come from within. Cresud SACIF (NASDAQ:CRESY) is a Latin American commodity producer active in Brazil and Argentina, with a focus on livestock, grains and sugar cane. In addition to its agricultural operations, the $788 million company also invests in real estate such as shopping centers, offices and hotels. The company’s dividend currently yields just over 5% and has a DPR of 23.4%, a healthy ratio with plenty of room to increase the payout (note that the payout is annual, not quarterly).
CRESY stock also formed a Golden Cross on the daily chart, and the 50-day SMA now acts as support for the stock price. The RSI has been docile since the stock broke above the 50 and 200 day SMAs, but remains well below the overbought threshold of 70.
Weis Markets Inc.
Benzinga Edge Value Score: 89.87
Yes, unfortunately, investing in consumer staples stocks with substantial dividends often means low-margin supermarkets. Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) is a supermarket chain that does business primarily in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, with a market capitalization of $1.68 billion and a dividend yield of 2%. The DPR also stands at 35.79%, which could give the company room to offer its first-ever payout increase in the near future.
WMK stock is down about 4% in 2025, but the stock is already up nearly 6% to start the year thanks to some bullish technical signals. A bullish MACD crossover preceded a breakout above the 50-day SMA, and the RSI is now higher than it has been since July. A bull trap is always possible, but this could be the start of a new rally.
Calavo Growers Inc.
Benzinga Edge Value Score: 80.91
Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) is a small processor of fresh fruit and vegetables, including avocados, tomatoes and papayas. The $462 million company operates in the United States and Mexico, but fruits and vegetables have been largely spared from tariffs, so the company’s revenues are not threatened. Calavo is also a dividend payer and even managed to increase its payout after less than a year. The dividend currently yields 3.09% with a DPR of 72%.
CVGW stock is breaking out in a big way to start 2026, rising nearly 20% to break above the 50- and 200-day SMAs. The MACD confirmed the bullish momentum, but watch the RSI: the stock has reached overbought territory, and a short-term pullback would not be surprising.
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