Kiplingers Gives Tyson High Marks

Tyson Foods Inc. is one of seven stocks listed in the June issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine as the most undervalued on the market. Johnson & Johnson Inc., which serves Wal-Mart Stores Inc. through a major Rogers operation, also made the list.

Tyson Foods — the Springdale poultry, beef and pork producer — got high praise for its promise in the coming years. Kiplinger’s cited the nation’s protein-diet craze and Tyson Foods’ successful $4.6 billion absorption of IBP Inc. in 2001. The magazine said Tyson “sells to virtually every channel, including grocery stores, hospitals and restaurants,” which explains why the company’s stock should hit $20 within a year.

Kiplinger’s described its seven bargains as “solid, conservative companies that are currently profitable.” It also noted that Tyson Foods “distinguishes itself from other commodity producers by getting as much as 70 percent of its sales from value-added products, such as precooked or packaged chicken.”