Among the Best FMCG Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

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Among the Best FMCG Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

We recently published a list of

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. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) stands against other best FMCG stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

Consumer staples refer to essential daily-use products such as packaged food, toothpaste, and dish detergent. These products often run out quickly off the supermarket shelves and are considered “defensive” because consumers continue to purchase these necessities even during economic downturns. Moreover, consumer staple companies are mostly mature dividend payers.

On December 10, 2024, Ben Shuleva, Fidelity Sector Portfolio Manager shared his

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for the sector in a report published on Fidelity Investments. The consumer staples sector had a positive year but lagged behind the broader market due to investors favoring higher-growth stocks. The high interest rates and concerns about GLP-1 weight-loss drugs affecting food consumption also impacted performance negatively. However, despite these challenges, the sector still posted strong absolute gains. Compared to the S&P 500 index the consumer staple sector gained 16.7% on a year-to-date basis as of December 9, whereas the S&P 500 index gained 26.9% during the same time.

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Ben Shuleva from Fidelity Investments anticipates a return to normalcy for the consumer staples sector in 2025. He suggests this based on a broadly stable economic environment with healthy employment and steady real wage growth. In addition, the Fed is expected to begin cutting interest rates, which could boost dividend-paying stocks. Lastly, consumer spending has remained strong and is expected to remain resilient in 2025, thereby indicating positive sales growth for the sector. Shuleva anticipates that these factors will lead the sector to outperform the broader market in 2025. However, there could be a few uncertainties that could hamper the growth trajectory. The new presidential administration may introduce changes in tariff policies, which could affect certain consumer staples products. Although most consumer staples are manufactured domestically, so the direct impact of tariffs might be limited. Moreover, a strengthening US dollar can negatively affect consumer staples companies with international operations by reducing their foreign earnings when converted back into dollars. Shuleva emphasizes focusing on core fundamentals when investing in consumer staple companies, such as those operating in favorable market structures and maintaining strong underlying growth profiles.

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To complete the list of the 12 best FMCG stocks to buy according to hedge funds, we used the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund and Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF. We selected pure-play Fast-Moving Consumer Goods-producing companies from the holdings of these two ETFs and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that held stakes in them at the close of the third quarter. The number of hedge funds was sourced from Insider Monkey’s third-quarter 2024 database.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (

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Is Altria Group, Inc. (MO) the Best FMCG Stock To Buy According to Hedge Funds?

A close-up of an assembly line with a blend of tobacco products.

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32 

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is a tobacco company based in Virginia. The company produces a range of products related to tobacco and nicotine. It runs famous ********** brands including Marlboro and Parliament, and has also started producing smoke-free alternatives to align with the dropping smoking rates around the world. During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, the company announced that its US smoke-free volumes have increased by 2.6% from its 2022 base volume of 800 units. Management aims to grow the volumes by at least 35% by 2028.

On January 31, Matthew Smith an analyst at Matthew Smith reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, while maintaining the price target of $60. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) surpassed analysts’ expectations with its recent fiscal fourth quarter results for 2024. The company delivered revenue of $5.11 billion up 1.63% year-over-year, beating expectations by $59.6 million. Management attributed this growth to a strong performance from its leading brands and also noted margin expansions within its core tobacco business. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is one of the best FMCG stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

Ashva Capital stated the following regarding Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in its 

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“At Ashva Capital, our focus on intrinsic value–rather than market sentiment or temporary price metrics– sets our portfolio apart from peers. For example, we hold Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), which has demonstrated resilience and strong performance within our portfolio, particularly following a robust Q3 earnings report. Altria’s results highlighted increased demand for smokeless products, underscoring both the adaptability of its business model and its long-term growth potential—a key factor in our investment decision.

Overall, MO ranks 12th on our list of best FMCG stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of MO to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the

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