Play Ketchup With Heinz (HNZ)

H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) reported stronger than expected earnings this morning, and investors may like the taste of it in their portfolio.

The maker of ketchup reported first-quarter earnings rose to $240.4 million, or 75 cents a share, from $212.6 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Analysts had expected earnings of 73 cents per share.

Revenue came in slightly worse than expected, rising to $2.48 billion. Analysts had expected $2.53 billion in revenues.

Heinz was fairly positive on its guidance, saying the company sees EPS growth of 7% to 10%.

Adding Heinz to your portfolio won't give you the next high flyer, that's for sure. What it will provide you with is steady growth, a strong dividend, and confidence knowing that when you go to sleep, the stock will be there in the morning.

Heinz yields a very healthy 3.9%, much better than the yield on a 10 year U.S. Treasury. Management is also firing on all cylinders, as Heinz's return on equity is over 50%, very high for a consumer staple.

Its operating margin is just over 15%, better than the industry average of 12.97%. Gross margin also rose this quarter to 36.6%, as higher pricing in emerging markets helped results.

Investors would certainly relish (pun intended) thinking about adding Heinz to their portfolio.

Disclosure: no positions in companies mentioned