The global population is expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, according to the U.N. One of the biggest challenges the world faces is rising demand for food. Therefore, the agriculture industry is likely to see sustained and growing demand for many years from the trend of a rising global population.

The best agriculture stocks position investors to profit from a long-term growth trend, along with solid dividend yields and dividend growth.

The following 3 agriculture stocks are appealing for dividend growth investors.

Agriculture Stock: Ingredion Inc. (INGR)

Ingredion is a multinational ingredient solutions company, operates in over 44 countries, and employs more than 11,000 people. The company is principally engaged in producing and selling starches and sweeteners for various industries. Essentially Ingredion turns grains, fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing, and industrial markets.

Ingredion operates in four business segments: North America, South America; Asia-Pacific; and Europe, Middle East, and Africa ("EMEA"). Ingredion released its third-quarter 2023 results on November 7th, 2023. In Q3, the company achieved net sales growth of 1%, amounting to $2.02 billion. This gain was driven by price and product mix adjustments, offset by volume reductions and foreign exchange influences.

Ingredion's earnings-per-share have grown at a CAGR of 5% over the last nine years. While the company saw a small decline in 2019/2020 due to lower sweetener demand, commodity margin pressures, and higher production and supply chain costs, its cost-smart initiative enabled it to save ~$170 million.

In addition, the company's ability to combat rising costs in corn and strong volume growth helped the company beat our $6.87 2022 EPS estimate. The company has increased its forward-looking guidance to mid-double-digit growth in net sales for 2023 with an adjusted EPS between $9.05 to $9.45.

With a dividend payout ratio below 40%, the dividend is secure with room for growth.

Agriculture Stock: The Toro Company (TTC)

The Toro Company manufactures mowers and other products, and generates $3.4 billion in annual revenue. Toro operates in North America as well as internationally, with three quarters of total revenue coming from the United States.

Toro reported fourth quarter 2023 results on December 20th, 2023. Q4 net sales declined 16% year-over-year to $0.98 billion. Adjusted earnings per diluted share decreased 36% to $0.71 in Q4 2023 and adjusted operating margin for the quarter was 10.1% compared to 12.9% in the same prior-year period. Leadership announced its fiscal 2024 outlook and is guiding for adjusted EPS in the range of $4.25 to $4.35.

Toro’s earnings-per-share has moved higher every year since 2009, an impressive feat that not many companies can claim. Indeed, it has managed to grow earnings at an average rate of 12.1% annually since 2014. Toro has managed to grow both organically and through acquisitions over the years, and we see that continuing with average annual earnings-per-share growth of 10% moving forward.

Toro will achieve this robust result with new acquisitions, like its recent purchase of Intimidator Group and Left Hand Robotics, and previously Charles Machine Works, as well as organic sales increases. We see mid- to high-single digit sales increases as remaining the norm along with a small tailwind from stock buybacks.

On December 12th, 2023, Toro increased its dividend for the 15th consecutive year, by 6% to $0.36 per share quarterly. The stock has a current yield of 1.5%.

Agriculture Stock: Bunge Limited (BG)

Bunge Limited is one of the largest agribusiness and food companies globally, with integrated operations that stretch from farmer to consumer. The company buys, sells, stores, transports, and processes oilseeds and grains to make protein meals for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial customers. Bunge also produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane, mills wheat and corn, and sells fertilizers.

On October 26th, 2023, the company announced Q3 2023 results, reporting GAAP EPS of $2.99, which beat the markets’ estimates by $0.49. Bunge reported revenues of $14.23 billion, down 15.1% year-over-year. Bunge has announced a robust performance for the third quarter, driven by effective execution and strategic initiatives.

Bunge Limited has grown its EPS by a CAGR of 7.9% over the past nine years. BG now has an increasing opportunity to expand its revenue. For instance, as the world advances toward sustainability, the growth in renewable diesel, produced from crop oils, is currently a modest portion of Bunge's business but may become big in the future.

The dividend payout ratio is just above 20%, which means the dividend is secure barring a significant downturn. BG stock yields 3%.

_______________
Bob Ciura has worked at Sure Dividend since October 2016. He oversees all content for Sure Dividend and its partner sites. Bob received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from DePaul University, and an MBA with a concentration in Investments from the University of Notre Dame.