The Procter & Gamble Company (PG), Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) and Three Dividend Stocks With Room to Run

It isn’t just tiny stocks that are delivering exciting investment returns these days. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), for example, surprised investors last week by turning in sizzling results.

The snack and beverage giant reported a 12% rise in profits on a 4% jump in revenue. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP)’s food division was the star of the show, booking higher sales and expanded market share. After a healthy bounce on the earnings release Pepsi’s stock is now up better than 20% this year — or twice the market’s return.

With that strong performance in mind, lets take a look at a few more dividend stocks that have the potential to trounce the market.

Home products
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has been stuck playing defense for more than a year. After a rough period of underperformance, the company turned to cutting costs and has been clawing back the market share it had lost to rivals. But The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is in the middle of an aggressive push for sales growth, with several new product launches, along with a big marketing campaign to back it all up. The company’s stock yields 3% even after a 20% run so far in 2013. And it’s valued at just 18 times earnings. Both of those stats beat smaller rival The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX), which yields 2.9% and has a P/E ratio of 21.

Toys and games
Don’t let Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS)‘s 25% rise this year scare you off. Sure, the company turned in a mixed 2012. Sales growth was a big disappointment in the U.S. But profitability also jumped to 15% in that market, versus 12% the year before. Looking ahead, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) is aiming to continue cutting down the vast number of products it sells so that it can focus on developing its blockbuster brands like Play-Doh and My Little Pony. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) currently yields 3.6%, better than Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MATT)‘s 3.3%. The company also sports a P/E of 18, making it a relative deal compared to Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MATT)’s 19.

Food and snacks
At a glance, Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) looks like a spanking new company. Its stock just started trading in 2012, after all. But Kraft Foods’ stellar portfolio — including billion-dollar brands like Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) and Oscar Mayer — has taken decades to build. Fresh from its spin-off from Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Kraft is a pure play on snacks and food in the North American market that has a lot of room to expand there. After a 10% run in the stock so far this year, Kraft is still cheaper than global competitor PepsiCo. And the company’s 4% yield makes it one of the highest yielding stocks around.

Foolish bottom line
You don’t have to venture into no-name stocks with questionable prospects to get a chance at real capital appreciation. Big, dividend-paying companies can make for exciting investments, too.

The article 3 Dividend Stocks With Room to Run originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos owns shares of Kraft, Mondelez International, and Hasbro and recommends Hasbro, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool owns shares of Hasbro and PepsiCo.

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