5 Refreshing Consumer Stocks to Buy

While consumer spending remains relatively weak, staples sales remain brisk.
Whether it's beer or energy drinks or a Diet Coke, consumers are reluctant to
cut out these staples especially since in the absence of trips to Aruba or
Europe, brand-name junk food is one of the simple pleasures many families have
left. As a result, the consumer staples market is going strong, particularly in
the beverage biz. I watch more than 5,000 publicly traded companies with my
Portfolio Grader tool, ranking companies by a number of fundamental and
quantitative measures. Today, I'm looking at five consumer stocks to drink up.
Each one of these stocks gets an "A" or "B" according to my research,
meaning it is a "strong buy" or "buy." Hansen Natural Corp. (NASDAQ:
HANS ) is best known for its Monster energy drink, but it also develops, sells
and markets other beverages. HANS stock has left shareholders buzzing, much like
its energy drink, with a year-to-date return of 68%. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) is,
of course, the producer of Coca-Cola, along with 500 other non-alcoholic drinks
across the globe. A year-to-date gain of 5% for KO stock is impressive, compared
to a 3% drop for the Dow Jones in the same time. National Beverage Corp.
(NASDAQ: FIZZ ) is best known for producing Shasta and Faygo sodas. FIZZ stock
has jumped almost 16% since the start of 2011, leaving shareholders with a
bubbly feeling. Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM ) is the Boston-based craft brewery
responsible for Samuel Adams and its variety of brews. Currently, experts are
predicting SAM stock to outperform the EPS it posted this time last year. Dr.
Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS ) is best known for producing a wide variety of
beverages including Dr. Pepper and Snapple, as its name suggests. DPS caps off
the list with a modest gain of 8% year to date. Get more analysis of these picks
and other publicly-traded stocks with Louis Navellier's Portfolio Grader tool,
a 100% free stock-rating tool that measures both quantitative buying pressure
and eight fundamental factors.