Energy fuel company Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:
MNST
) will be taking the place of Sara Lee (NYSE:
SLE
) in the S&P 500 Index after the close on June 28th. The
longtime American food brand will be swapping places with Monster
following its decision earlier this month to become absorbed
under the
Hillshire Brands
(NYSE:
HSH
) name.
Sara Lee will step down onto the S&P MidCap 400 Index come
Thursday, as its anticipated coffee and tea spin-off agreement is
expected to be made final that day.
D.E. MASTER BLENDERS 1753
is set to begin operating Sara Lee's beverage business next week
following the June 1st announcement that the company would be
separating its household products, meats and baked goods from its
brews.
As one beverage maker takes a step down, another will reign in
its place. Monster's transition into the big leagues solidifies
that the company will be going up against the most prevalent
beverage competition in the world, with The Coca-Cola Company
(NYSE:
KO
), PepsiCo (NYSE:
PEP
) and Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE:
DPS
) being just a few renowned names that the drink distributor will
soon join on the S&P 500 Index.
The transition comes at a time when Sara Lee has been
experiencing lackluster sales and Monster Beverage is continuing
to ignite the interest of investors worldwide.
"Monster has experienced strong sales and profit growth since
going public in 1995, as Americans guzzled down its namesake
energy drink, a blend of sugar and Vitamin B packaged in tall-boy
cans streaked with claw marks. Meanwhile, Sara Lee suffered.
Sales fell from $17.6 billion in 2002 to only $8.7 billion last
year,"
Forbes
recently reported.
In the beginning of June, Monster's sales were up 28.3% with
no signs of crashing. Goldman Sachs maintained that the growth
was incredibly encouraging and exceeded the firms forecast as the
brand continues to be on the up and up.
Replacing a business in transition with a more lucrative and
stable company may be the best decision for all parties involved
in the flip-flop. Regardless of the outcome, it will certainly be
refreshing for investors and analysts to see Monster Beverage on
the S&P 500 next week.
Monster is currently up about 2.5% in pre-market trading at
$76.58, while Hillshire Brands closed yesterday at $28.25, up
approximately 10% year-to-date.
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advice. All rights reserved.