Stocks That Will Warm Your Heart on Valentine's Day

Companies like Tiffany & Co., 1-800-Flowers, Match.com and The Hershey Co. anticipate big business on a day dedicated to love

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Feb 13, 2018
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Last week’s market volatility was just enough to get the heart racing in time for Valentine’s Day. But now that things have calmed down a bit, let’s take a look at stocks of companies that depend on Cupid to help improve free cash flow.

What would Valentine’s Day be without chocolate? If milk chocolate is not a good choice, don’t forget The Hershey Co. (HSY, Financial) also makes mints, hard candy like The Jolly Rancher and other popular confections like Reese's, Kit Kat, Twizzlers and Ice Breakers.

Early Tuesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania-based company’s shares were slightly down 0.28% to just under $100 a share.

In the last 12 months, the stock has slid 8% while revenues rose 1% to $7.5 billion. Hershey has a market cap of $20.96 billion.

GuruFocus rates it a 5 out of 10 in financial strength and 8 out of 10 in profitability and growth. The screener warned the company’s operating margins have been in a five-year decline, but it has seen consistent growth in revenue per share and its dividend yield is close to a five-year high.

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1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS, Financial) considers Valentine’s Day its second-biggest floral holiday. Mother’s Day beats it. But the Christmas season is actually the biggest holiday and busiest time for the New Jersey-based company.

The company will deliver about 16 million flower stems for Valentine’s Day. Ten million of those will be roses.

It also does business outside of the arena of flowers. Up to 57% of revenue is in sales of gourmet foods, including Harry & David, Cheryl’s Cookies, The Popcorn Factory and Simply Chocolate.

1-800-Flowers.com was up 0.23% to just under $11 on Tuesday. In the last 12 months, its stock has jumped by 6% and is close to a two-year high. Its revenue per share has been in decline over the past 12 months.

It has a market cap of almost $700 million. GuruFocus ranks its financial strength 5 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF, Financial) also does a lot of business around Valentine’s. The monobrand jeweler with a 180-year history sells timepieces, sterling silver goods, china, crystal and accessories.

On Tuesday, it was trading for just under $101 a share, up 0.24%.

GuruFocus gives it a financial strength rating of 7 out of 10 and a profitability and growth rating of 5 out of 10. The company has widespread signs of health, including consistent growth in revenue per share, and an expanding operating margin.

Its stock price is close to a 10-year high. With a market cap of $12.6 billion, it has historically been a strong performer.

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IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC, Financial) is the company that owns online media companies like Match.com, the world’s largest online dating service provider.

IAC/InterActiveCorp was up almost 2% in Tuesday trading to $142.92 a share. Its stock price has climbed 88% over the last 12 months on revenue of $3.3 billion.

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GuruFocus gives it a severe warning sign because its asset growth has been faster than its revenue growth. Its revenue per share growth has slowed down, but the company has a high Piotroski F-score, suggesting it is financially strong. Its price-sales and price-book ratios are close to a 10-year high.

With a market cap of $11.7 billion, it also known for the development of entities like Expedia (EXPE, Financial), TripAdvisor (TRIP, Financial), Ticketmaster and The Home Shopping Network.