In the spotlight today is the Western European market leader in the frozen food industry. With a portfolio of multiple brands, the company’s roots span over a century. The current setup was formed in 2015, when the brands Iglo and Findus were acquired. Since the IPO, a decade has passed, yet the stock is trading (again) where it had started. Are a near 5% dividend yield and a PE ratio of 7 enough to spark appetite, or is something fishy?

Though initially not planned as a trilogy in that sense, today I am taking a closer look at Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits company. Like its competitors Pernod Ricard and Brown-Foreman, Diageo stock has nosedived, and caused strong headaches for its investors. After the stock got cut in half, while the broader market ran from high to high, the question arises, whether this could be a good contrarian pick right now. Especially with the dividend now being on a historically high level.

Here we go again with one of my favorite contrarian topics: Buckle up, the dividend butcher is sharpening his axe once more! Four prestigious dividend stocks once deemed safe havens are poised to slash their generosity to ribbons. With worsening fundamentals, overstretched balance sheets and drying cash flows in a challenging environment, these firms will likely need to trim the fat from their dividends in the not-too-distant future.

Pernod Ricard’s stock has taken an almost unthinkable tumble, plummeting from a spirited high of over 200 EUR not too long ago in 2023 to even below 100 EUR now. That’s a 50% nosedive in just two years, while the broader markets – until they got a bit tipsy a few months back – were toasting new highs. The more so shocking, as Pernod Ricard is seen as a “recession-proof, high-quality company with valuable brands”. Is this a rare chance to grab a premium spirits stock at a bargain, letting its value intoxicate your portfolio? Or could it trap you in a value hangover?