China Retaliates: ETFs & Stocks On Radar

The re-emergence of trade war fears has sent tremors across the Wall Street. This is because China has targeted about $3 billion in American exports in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariff on steel and aluminum import (read: Trump Tariffs Put These Sector ETFs & Stocks in Focus).

The second-largest country has slapped a duty on 128 American food products effective Apr 2. Of these, 120 products, including dried fruits, sparkling wine and stainless steel pipes, saw a new tariff of 15% while eight commodities, including pork products and aluminum scrap, saw a 25% tax hike. The new tariffs went into effect on Apr 2.

The move would hurt several American food producers and exporters. In particular, farmers and the pork industry have been on the forefront of damage, as American farmers shipped nearly $20 billion of goods to China in 2017. China is the third-largest consumer of U.S. pork and bought about $1.1 billion worth of pork products from the United States last year, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

The tariff would also severely impact the apple and wine industry. Washington growers exported nearly 1.8 million 40-pound boxes of apples to mainland China last year and another million to Hong Kong, according to data from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. Meanwhile, China is one of the fastest growing wine markets in the world and is the sixth-biggest wine importer following France, Australia, Chile, Spain and Italy. U.S. wine exports to greater China (including the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong) were up 10% last year to $197 million. Notably, the value of U.S. wine exports (97% from California) to China has increased 450% in the past decade (read: China Had a Strong Start in 2018: ETFs to Buy).

Per money.cnn.com, China makes up for 6% of American fruit exports, 5% of wine exports, 3% of nuts exports and 40% of all ginseng exports.

Given this, we have highlighted several ETFs and stocks that are likely to be hit hard and are in focus in the weeks ahead:

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN)

Tyson Foods is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500. Shares of TSN dropped as much as 6.1%, the most in nearly 18 months, following the China retaliation. Tyson Foods currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a VGM Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Hormel Foods produces and markets various meat and food products in the United States and internationally. The stock was down 2.4% on the day and has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of C.

Seaboard Corporation (NYSE:SEB)

The company operates as a diverse agribusiness and transportation company worldwide. The company's pork division is involved in the hog production and pork processing activities. It provides fresh and frozen pork products to further processors, foodservice operators, grocery stores, distributors and retail outlets. The stock falls under the top-ranked Zacks industry (top 48%) and shed 0.9% following China tariff.

Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ)

The company is a leading producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands, with a broad portfolio across the wine, spirits and imported beer categories and operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy. The stock was up 0.10% on the China tariff announcement, and has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a VGM Score of D.

iPath Bloomberg Livestock Subindex Total Return COW

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures tumbled to their lowest in 16 months on Apr 3, sending COW down by 2.3% on the day. The note tracks the Bloomberg Livestock Subindex Total Return, which delivers returns through futures contracts on livestock commodities. The benchmark provides 69.5% exposure to live cattle and the reminder to lean hogs. The product has amassed $12.1 million in its asset base and charges 75 bps in fees per year. It carries a Zacks ETF Rank #5 (Strong Sell) with a High risk outlook.

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF FTXG

This ETF offers exposure to 30 U.S. companies within the food and beverage industry by tracking the Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index. It has key holdings in food products firms with about three-fourth of the portfolio while soft drinks (13.5%), distillers & vintners (7%) and brewers (4%) round off the next spots. FTXG has AUM of just $1 million and charges 60 bps in annual fees. It has lost 0.2% on the day and has a Zacks ETF Rank #5 (see: all the Consumer Staples ETFs here).

PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio PBJ

This ETF dropped 2.3% on Apr 3. It offers exposure to 30 stocks that are engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of food and beverage products, agricultural products and products related to the development of new food technologies by tracking the Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index. The fund has amassed $77.2 million in its asset base and charges 59 bps in annual fees from investors. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.

ETRACS CMCI Food Total Return ETN FUD

This ETN is designed to track the performance of the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Food Index Total Return, which measures the returns from a basket of 11 futures contracts from the agricultural and livestock sectors. It has amassed $3.9 million in its asset base and charges 65 bps in annual fees. The note added 0.06% on the day and has a Zacks ETF Rank #4 (Sell) with a High risk outlook.

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Constellation Brands Inc (STZ): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN): Free Stock Analysis Report

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL): Free Stock Analysis Report

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IPATH-BB LVST (COW): ETF Research Reports

E-TRC UBC FOOD (FUD): ETF Research Reports

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