Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN), Active Network Inc.(ACTV) and Harvest Natural Resources Inc.(HNR)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided to not lift its clinical hold on sovaprevir, the company’s experimental hepatitis C treatment. Shares plunged 53% to $3.37 in premarket trading as the company said the FDA’s response indicated that while Achillion’s submission addressed all the issues noted in the FDA’s June 29 letter, the FDA concluded that the removal of the clinical hold isn’t warranted.

Technology and media company Active Network will be taken private by Vista Equity Partners in a cash deal valued at about $1.05 billion. The company, which makes software used to build websites that help people find and register for events online, last month disclosed its board had established a committee to evaluate strategic options. Vista will acquire Active for $14.50 a share in cash, a 27% premium to Friday’s close. Shares surged 26% to $14.41 premarket.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Hillshire Brands Co (HSH)

The Hillshire Brands Company, incorporated on September 4, 1941, is a manufacturer and marketer of food products. The Company�� portfolio includes brands, such as Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, State Fair, Sara Lee frozen bakery and Chef Pierre pies, as well as artisanal brands Aidells and Gallo Salame. The Company operates in two segments: Retail and Foodservice/Other. Retail sells a variety of packaged meat and frozen bakery products to retail customers in North America. Foodservice/other sells a variety of meat and bakery products to foodservice customers in North America. On February 4, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its Australian bakery business.

Retail

Products in the retail segments include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages, breakfast convenience items, including breakfast sandwiches and bowls, dinner sausages, deli and luncheon meats and cooked hams, as well as frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes and other desserts. The Company�� brands include Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, State Fair and Sara Lee, as well as artisanal brands Aidells and Gallo Salame. The sales of the Retail business are generated in the United States Sales are made in the retail channel to supermarkets, warehouse clubs and national chains. Retail�� business accounted for 74% of the Company�� sales during the fiscal year ended June 29, 2013 (fiscal 2013).

Foodservice/Other

Products in the foodservice/other segment include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages and sandwiches, dinner sausages, deli and luncheon meats, ham, beef and turkey, as well as a variety of bakery products, including pastries, muffins, frozen pies, cakes and cheesecakes. Sales are made in the foodservice channel to distributors, restaurants, hospitals and other large institutions. Foodservice/Other�� business accounted for 26% of the Company�� sales in fiscal 2013.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Although the Hostess acquisition was high profile, Flowers has made many similar though smaller acquisitions in recent years, taking advantage of the fragmented bakery industry to pick off targets individually with attractive buyout offers. Moreover, late last year, the company bought licensing rights for the Sara Lee brand in California, after Sara Lee changed its name to Hillshire Brands (NYSE: HSH  ) and shifted its focus toward meat products. The move helped Sara Lee reap more money from its brand while giving Flowers more market share in the important California market.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tyson Foods (TSN) plunged 12% to $35.43 this week, making it the biggest loser in the S&P 500. Tyson won a bidding war for Hillshire Foods (HSH) this week–and probably overpaid.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Paul Sakuma/AP NEW YORK -- Hillshire Brands says it will hold separate talks with Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson Foods, as the two meat processing heavyweights engage in a bidding war for the maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs. The announcement by Hillshire (HSH) comes a day after Pilgrim's Pride raised its bid to $55 a share, or $6.8 billion, from $45 a share. That tops Tyson's offer of $50 a share, or $6.2 billion, made last week. Those values are based on Hillshire's 123 million shares outstanding. Pilgrim's Pride puts the total value of its new bid at $7.7 billion. Tyson Foods values its proposal at $6.8 billion, including debt. The takeover bids by Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) and Tyson Foods (TSN) are being driven by the desirability of brand-name, convenience products like Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. Those types of products are more profitable than fresh meat, such as chicken breasts, where there isn't as much wiggle room to pad prices. While Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson both sell such products, their businesses have been more focused on supplying supermarkets and restaurant chains. Both offers are contingent on Hillshire abandoning its plan to acquire Pinnacle Foods (PF), which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Wish-Bone salad dressings. Some investors had questioned the wisdom of that deal, given the outdated image of some of Pinnacle's brands and the differences in the two companies' product portfolios. In its statement issued Tuesday, Hillshire noted that it can't just scrap its deal with Pinnacle. But a term in Hillshire's deal with Pinnacle allows it to consider alternative proposals that would be superior for stockholders. Pilgrim's Pride has said it would pay the $163 million breakup fee to call off the deal between Hillshire and Pinnacle. Hillshire, based in Chicago, had been trying to diversify its own portfolio by moving into other areas of the supermarket with the $4.23 billion acquisition of Pinnacle. Based in Greeley,

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Nestle SA (NESN.VX)

Nestle SA is a Swiss Company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. It is also active in the pharmaceutical sector. It divides its products into Powdered and liquid beverages, Water, Milk products and Ice cream, Nutrition, Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Confectionery, PetCare and Pharmaceutical products. In February 2011, the Company acquired CM&D Pharma Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Calia]

  Post Holdings Inc.(POST) agreed to acquire the PowerBar and Musashi brands from Nestle SA(NESN.VX), further expanding the cereal maker’s position in the active nutrition category.

10 Best Machinery Stocks To Buy For 2015: Nestle SA (NESN)

Nestle SA is a Swiss Company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. It is also active in the pharmaceutical sector. It divides its products into Powdered and liquid beverages, Water, Milk products and Ice cream, Nutrition, Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Confectionery, PetCare and Pharmaceutical products. In February 2011, the Company acquired CM&D Pharma Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Swiss stocks fell for a second day, their first back-to-back losses this month, as Nestle (NESN) SA retreated after reporting slower growth in sales.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Neutra Corp (NTRR)

Neutra Corp. incorporated on January 11, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company�� business and registered office is located in Sarasota, Florida. The Company�� intended private label products consists of aging, cognitive support, antioxidants/flavonoids, circulatory support, detoxification support, endocrine support, essential fatty acids, gastrointestinal support, immune support, men�� health, minerals, mood/sleep support, multiples, musculoskeletal support, neurological support, proteins/amino acids, vitamins, women�� health and veterinary products. The Company�� product focuses to research and development in a range of areas, such as weight-loss, detox, men�� health, acid-alkali pH balance, anti-aging, sleep disorders, autism, pain management with the use of medical cannabis products, and air space sanitation derived by nutraceutical technology.

The Company focuses to market and sell nutraceutical supplement products to health practitioners. It focuses direct marketing and sales towards Members of the American Association for Health Freedom (American Association for Health Freedom has merged with Alliance for Natural Health) www.anh-usa.org; American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, www.naturopathic.org; American Association of Oriental Medicine, www.aaom.org, and American College for Advancement in Medicine, www.acamnet.org. It also focuses direct marketing and sales towards American Holistic Medical Association, www.holisticmedicine.org; American Dietetic Association, www.eatright.org, and American Herbalist Guild, www.americanherbalistsguild.com.

The Company competes with Thone Research, The Vitamin Company, Nutraceutical International Corporation, Protocol For Life, Medagenics and Standard Process.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, NTRR surged (+19.45%) up +0.068 at $.420 with 22,114 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:17AM EDT July 11, 2013).

  As Neutra Corp. works to deliver new innovations to the U.S. medical marijuana industry, the market for those innovations continues to grow. Last week, lawmakers passed a bill to make New Hampshire the 19th state to approve medical marijuana (MMJ) prescriptions for patients with chronic or terminal illnesses.

  The legislation will make New Hampshire the 19th state to legalize MMJ, in addition to the District of Columbia. Five more states have legislation pending to legalize prescriptions, according to ProCon.org.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, NTRR has shed (-5.26%) down -0.020 at $.360 with 14,150 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:46AM EDT July 3, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

  Neutra Corp. through a key new partnership with an innovative cannabis delivery systems provider in the medical marijuana industry, is poised to make an impact in the lucrative $52 billion pain management market.

  With partner Field of View Technologies, LLC, exploring new technology in cannabis delivery systems, NTRR is ready to provide much-needed smokeless delivery systems to those most in need: patients forced to live with debilitating pain.

  A recent study by Columbia University found that smoke-free cannabinoid medication was effective in treating pain. Smokeless delivery systems can be administered orally, by injection or topically, giving the patient the choice of treatment method as NTRR and Field of View set the pace in the potentially lucrative pain management market.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Cencosud SA (CNCO)

Cencosud SA (Cencosud) is a Chile-based holding company primarily engaged in the retail sector. The Company�� activities include the management and operation of a network of supermarkets, home centers, department stores and shopping malls, which operate under such names as Jumbo, Disco & Vea, Santa Isabel, Easy, Paris, Blaisten and GBarbosa, among others. The Company�� business also comprises the provision of consumer financial services and insurance brokerage, as well as it operates family entertainment centers and a travel agency. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company has operations established in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. As of December 31, 2010, the Company was a 25.74%-owned affiliate of Inversiones Quinchamali Limitada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  In terms of growth, Asia is where the company is achieving its greatest success. Operating joint ventures in China, India and Japan, Aegon’s gross deposits in new markets grew 31% in fiscal 2013 to $19.8 billion. Its underlying earnings before tax have grown 28% over the last two fiscal years, with fee-based earnings representing a much bigger part of its business than in the past. That�� a good thing, because fee-based earnings don�� have nearly the same bite if things go south than assets on your own balance sheet. Its operations outside of Europe are getting stronger, providing the diversification necessary to survive financial hiccups. As far as insurers go, AEG is one of the best cheap stocks worth owning.

  Cheap Stocks to Buy: Cencosud S.A. (CNCO)

  Cencosud is one of the largest retailers in Latin America. It operates grocery stores, home improvement stores and department stores in five countries including Chile, its home base. Its stock is down 51% over the past year for several reasons, including a deal falling through that would have seen it sell 51% of its credit card operations in Chile and Argentina to Itau Unibanco (ITUB) and using the proceeds to reduce its heavy debt load. Add to that a major devaluation of the peso in Argentina, where it generates a quarter of its overall revenue, and you have investors in a full-on panic.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Etablissementen Fr Colruyt NV (COLR)

Etablissementen Fr Colruyt NV, also known as Colruyt Group, is a Belgian company primarily engaged in retail and wholesale of food products. The Company's retail trade division includes the direct supply of products to retail customers operating through brands Colruyt, DreamBaby, BIO-planet, DreamLand and ColliShop, among others. The Company supplies to wholesalers and affiliated independent merchants in Belgium, France and Luxembourg. It also provides printing solutions (photo Fuji Colruyt). Colruyt Group also has a corporate activities division, which combines support services, processes and systems and central administration, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Colruyt SA (COLR) fell 4 percent to 42.31 euros. Belgium�� largest discount food retailer forecast full-year net income of about 369 million euros ($498 million) compared with analysts�� estimates of 381.2 million euros.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Colruyt (COLR) gained 8.3 percent to 40.08 euros, the largest jump since June 27, 2012. Belgium�� biggest discount food retailer said full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounted to 699.8 million euros ($910 million), beating the average 684 million-euro analyst projection in a Bloomberg survey. The company also raised its dividend to 1 euro a share, exceeding the Bloomberg Dividend Forecast of 98 cents.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Nash-Finch Company(NAFC)

Nash-Finch Company operates as a wholesale food distributor in the United States. The company?s Military segment distributes grocery products to the United States military commissaries and exchanges in the United States and the District of Columbia, Europe, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Azores, Egypt, and Bahrain. Its Food Distribution segment sells and distributes various branded and private label grocery products and perishable food products to approximately 1,500 independent retail locations through its 14 distribution centers. This segment also provides various services, including promotional, advertising, and merchandising programs; installation of computerized ordering, receiving, and scanning systems; retail equipment procurement assistance; accounting, budgeting, and payroll contract services; consumer and market research; remodeling and store development services; supply chain through Internet services; and securing existing grocery stores. The company?s Retail segment operates corporate-owned grocery stores under the Sun Mart, Econofoods, AVANZA, Family Thrift Center, Pick ?n Save, Family Fresh Market, Prairie Market, Saver?s Choice, Wally?s Supermarkets, and Wholesale Food Outlet banners primarily in the states of Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. This segment?s conventional grocery stores offer a range of grocery products and services, such as fresh meat counters, delicatessens, bakeries, eat-in cafes, pharmacies, banks, and floral departments, as well as provide check cashing, fax services, and money transfer services. As of December 31, 2011, the company served 93 retail stores operating under the IGA banner and 50 retail stores under the Food Pride banner; and operated 43 conventional supermarkets, 1 AVANZA grocery store, 1 Wholesale Food Outlet grocery store, and 1 Saver?s Choice store. Nash-Finch Company was founded in 1885 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Nash-Finch (NASDAQ: NAFC  ) and Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN  ) jumped as much as 16% and 15%, respectively, after Spartan said it would buy Nash-Finch, primarily for its military stores.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Sysco has avoided the margin compression suffered by chicken producers Tyson (NYSE: TSN  ) and Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM  ) and which was more deeply felt by smaller food-service operator Nash-Finch (NASDAQ: NAFC  ) . (It is omitted from this chart due to its drop into outright negative operating margin territory (a decline of roughly 250% in two years.) However, fellow food-service company United Natural Foods (NASDAQ: UNFI  ) has actually improved its margins, and restaurant chains both large and small (well, mid-size) have done an admirable job of holding the margin line in the face of rising input costs. So it appears that scale alone isn't enough to help Sysco outrun the rising costs of its products.

Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: SunOpta Inc (STKL)

SunOpta Inc. ( SunOpta), incorporated on January 1, 2008, is a global company operating businesses focused on a healthy products portfolio that promotes sustainable well-being. With expertise in field to table integration, it specializes in the sourcing, processing and packaging of natural, organic and specialty food products. The Company operates in two business segments: SunOpta Foods and Opta Minerals.

Its core natural and organic food operations focus on value-added grains, fiber and fruit-based product offerings, supported by a global sourcing and supply infrastructure. Its assets, operations and employees are principally located in North America and Europe. It has two non-core holdings: a 66.1% ownership position in Opta Minerals Inc. and its subsidiaries (Opta Minerals), a producer, distributor and recycler of industrial materials; and an 18.7% ownership position in Mascoma Corporation (Mascoma), a biofuels company.

SunOpta Foods

SunOpta Foods operates in the natural, organic and specialty foods product sectors and utilizes a number of integrated business models to bring cost-effective and products to market. It believes these markets will continue to grow as consumers focus on health and wellness. SunOpta Foods consists of four operating segments: Grains and Foods Group, Ingredients Group, Consumer Products Group and International Foods Group .It focuses on three key go-to-market segments: raw materials, value-added ingredients and consumer-packaged products.

The Grains and Foods Group specializes in marketing organic, identity preserved (IP), and non-GMO grains, ingredients, packaged goods and processing services with a core focus on soybean, sunflower and corn products. The Grains and Foods Group works to ensure that it provides its customers with organic, non-GMO and IP specialty grains and seeds by serving as a grower�� supplier of seed; purchaser of the grower�� specialty crops; and processor and packager of a wide range of grains-! based ingredients and consumer-packaged products. It offers a variety of IP, non-GMO and organic seeds and whole grains including soy, corn and sunflower for food applications offering varieties with superior food , raw material sourcing and processing of soy based ingredients in liquid, spray-dried and roasted formats. It offers Grain-based ingredients which utilize non-GMO and organic soy, corn, sunflower and rice; specialty organic functional ingredients, including maltodextrins, tack blends, fiber products; flavor enhancing products, including snack coatings, cheese powders and flavor systems; an line of organic dairy ingredients; and organic soy and sunflower oils. It offers variety of packaged food products for retail and foodservice use and a full range of bulk grain-based animal feed and pet food products.

The Ingredients Group is focused primarily on fiber products and specialty fruit ingredients. It works closely with its customers to identify product formulation, cost and productivity opportunities aimed at transforming raw materials into value-added food ingredient solutions. It offers fibers and brans, including Canadian Harvest Oat Fiber, SunOpta Soy Fiber, SunOpta Rice Fiber, SunOpta Cellulose Fiber and SunOpta Pea Fiber brands of insoluble organic and conventional fiber products, Barley Balance soluble fiber, MultiFiber blends, value-added starch-based texturizers, and a number of custom processed ingredients. It offers SunOpta Specialty Starch products, including OptaGrade and OptaMist. OptaGrade is a natural, starch-based texturizing agent that is used commercially in a variety of dairy products including natural, imitation, and processed cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt. OptaMist is also a starch-based texturizing agent that improves the taste, texture and appearance of dairy products, yogurt, cheese products, and salad dressings.

The Consumer Products Group provides natural and organic consumer packaged food products to global fo! od manufa! cturers, distributors and supermarket chains with a variety of branded and private label products. The Consumer Products Group�� products include Conventional and organic beverage processing and re-sealable pouch filling solutions in a variety of product categories, including shelf stable and refrigerated juices, frozen fruits and vegetables, specialty beverages, vitamin waters, electrolyte waters, energy drinks, soups, baby food, and healthy fruit and vegetable based snacks in flexible pouches. It offers nutritious healthy snacks including natural and organic fruit based snacks in bar, twist, rope and bite size shapes, with the ability to add a variety of ingredients including fiber, plus a range of baked and extruded nutrition bars using a wide variety of ingredients including grains, proteins and other ingredients.

The International Foods Group includes European and North American based operations that source and supply raw material ingredients and trade organic commodities. Its principal operations are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Santa Cruz, California and comprise the global sourcing and supply operations of Tradin Organic, including a business in Dalian, China that supplies food grade organic soybeans, feed, organic sunflower kernels and other grains and distributes certain organic food products, as well as sourcing and processing operations in Ethiopia for organic and specialty coffees and organic and conventional sesame seeds. In addition, the International Foods Group is expanding its integrated processing capabilities with the construction of its value-added organic and specialty cocoa facility in the Netherlands.

SunOpta Foods is subject to a wide range of governmental regulations and policies in various countries and regions where it operates,including the

United States,Canada, the Netherlands, throughout the rest of the EU, China and Ethiopia. These laws, regulations and policies are implemented, as applicable in each jurisdiction, on t! he nation! al, federal, state, provincial and local levels. For example, SunOpta Foods is affected by laws and regulations related to: seed, fertilizer and pesticides; the purchasing, harvesting, transportation and warehousing of grain and other products; the processing, packaging and sale of food, including wholesale operations; and product labelling and marketing, food safety and food defense. SunOpta Foods is also affected by government-sponsored price supports, acreage set aside programs and a number of environmental regulations.

Opta Minerals

Opta Minerals is a vertically integrated provider of custom process optimization solutions and supplier of industrial minerals and silica-free abrasives for use primarily in the steel, foundry, loose abrasive cleaning and municipal water filtration industries. Opta Minerals has offices and production and distribution facilities in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and production locations in Europe in Kosice, Slovakia; Romans, France; and Ermsleben and Rodermark, Germany. Opta Minerals integration of its business acquisitions into its existing operations and financial management systems has created synergies that have increased revenues and profit margins. It has invested in improving plant equipment and infrastructure and has been able to reduce costs while growing production capabilities. It believes that Opta Minerals is well-positioned to expand current operations with modest capital expenditures.

Opta Minerals produces, manufactures, distributes and recycles industrial minerals, silica-free abrasives and specialty sands and other products and services to the foundry, steel, loose abrasive cleaning, roofing granule, marine/bridge cleaning, waterjet cutting, and municipal, recreational and industrial water filtration industries. Its principal product lines include: blends of industrial minerals used primarily in heavy industrial a! pplicatio! ns; silica-free abrasives,and specialty sands, filtration media and other products and services.

Opta Minerals sells industrial mineral products primarily to the foundry and steel industries. Industrial minerals products produced by Opta Minerals include chromites, magnesium blends, lime, nozzle sands, clays, coated sands, petroleum coke, crushed graphite, pre-cast refractory shapes, injection lances, and a wide range of foundry pre-mixes.

Opta Minerals abrasive products are primarily sold into shipbuilding, ship repair, bridge cleaning, waterjet cutting and roofing granule markets. The abrasives produced are free of silica, making them a clean, efficient and recyclable alternative to traditional abrasives. Recycling operations are conducted at Waterdown, Ontario, Norfolk, Virginia and Ermsleben, Germany. This is an important service that Opta Minerals provides to its customers which results in the reuse of materials that would otherwise be sent directly to landfills. Silica-free abrasive products produced by Opta Minerals include BlackBlast, Ultra Blast, EconoBlast, EbonyGrit, Powerblast, Galaxy Garnet, Emerald Creek Garnet, Bengal Bay Garnet and other specialty abrasives.

Opta Minerals also generates revenues from the sale of specialty sands, filtration media and other products and technical services. The silica sands are not sold for use as an abrasive material.Speciality sands and other products and services of Opta Minerals include filtration and industrial sands, garnets for filtration and waterjet cutting, construction sands, golf bunker sand, silica (not sold for loose abrasive applications), colored sand, waterjet cutting replacement parts and components, and technical services.

The industrial minerals industry is characterized by a number of public and private companies that service the bulk of requirements for both the foundry and steel industry. The remaining market requirements are fulfilled by small regionally based companies with limi! ted produ! ct lines that generally focus on local markets.

The silica-free abrasives industry is characterized by a number of regionally-based companies with limited product lines tending to focus on geographically adjacent markets. Their competition varies by product line, customer classification and geographic market. Opta Minerals conducts business throughout North America with a focus on key regions including the Quebec-Detroit corridor, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, all of which are areas of high volume ship repairs and bridge cleaning activities.

The Company competes with Vesuvius Group S.A./N.V., Stollberg Group, SKW Mettalurgie Gmbh, Magnesium Elektron and Prince Minerals.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  © 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Best Food Companies To Buy Right Now: Want Want China Holdings Ltd (WWNTF)

Want Want China Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries are the manufacturing, distribution and sale of rice crackers, dairy products and beverages, snack foods and other products. The Company segments include manufacturing and sale of Rice crackers, including sugar coated crackers, savoury crackers and fried crackers; dairy products and beverages, including flavored milk, yogurt drinks, ready-to-drink coffee, juice drinks, carbonated drinks, herbal tea and milk powder; snack foods, including candies, popsicles and jellies, ball cakes and beans and nuts, and other products, mainly including wine and other food products. Its operations are located in the People�� Republic of China, with the rest located in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. As of December 31, 2011, its subsidiaries included Want Want Holdings Ltd., Long Wave Foods Limited, Want-Want Foods Limited and others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losses early Thursday after hitting a seven-month high in the previous session, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) down less than 0.1%. Most mainland Chinese property developers outperformed the markets, with Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. (HK:2777) (GZUHF) rallying 3.4%, after the company reported a 44% month-on-month jump in sales for June. Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. (HK:0813) (SIOPF) climbed 2.6%, and China Resources Land Ltd. (HK:1109) (CRBJF) rose 1.7%. However, several retailers were weak, as Want Want China Holdings Ltd. (HK:0151) (WWNTF) , the country's top food and beverage maker, declined 2%. Hong Kong-based cosmetics brand Sa Sa International Holdings (HK:0178) (SAXJF) fell 1.6%, with a decline in Chinese June non-manufacturing data helping weigh on some retailers. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) retreated 0.4%, pulling back from its highest close in two weeks.