The Cannabis ETF (NYSE:THCX) is down roughly 62% year-to-date, as emerging markets have received the biggest brunt of the market downfall since the beginning of the year.
Although directly investing in a company that only deals with cannabis-related products may be fruitful, it may be safer to invest in an established firm with already strong brands looking to diversify in the cannabis space.
This can provide investors with a passive income from firms with strong fundamentals, while also opening them up to the risk of an emerging cannabis company.
In the political arena, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been touting that Congress is "very close" to passing a marijuana banking and expungement bill.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) is offering a dividend yield of 8.18% or $3.76 per share annually, making quarterly payments, with a dividend track record of increasing its dividends for 52 consecutive years.
Altria Group includes Philip Morris USA, and through its tobacco subsidiaries holds the leading position in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in the U.S. and the number-two spot in machine-made cigars.
Altria also holds a 10% stake in the world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE:BUD) and a 42% stake in Toronto-based Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON), which sells medicinal and recreational cannabis through its medicinal and recreational brands.
Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI) is offering a dividend yield of 4.70% or $1.00 per share annually, utilizing quarterly payments, with an inconsistent track record of increasing its dividend payments.
Compass Diversified is a diversified business conglomerate based in the U.S. investing in two groups of companies: branded consumer business and niche industrial business.
In 2015, Compass purchased 87% of Fresh Hemp Foods Ltd., also known as Manitoba Harvest, which is the world’s largest vertically-integrated hemp food manufacturer, for CA$132.5 million and funded through drawings under its revolving credit facility. In 2019, Compass sold Manitoba Harvest to Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) and received CA$277.5 million at closing, comprised of CA$150 million in cash and CA$127.5 million in Tilray Shares.
Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ) is offering a dividend yield of 1.30% or $3.20 per share annually, through quarterly payments, with a strong track record of increasing its dividends for six consecutive years.
Constellation Brands is the largest multi-category alcohol supplier in the U.S., and its business is anchored by a portfolio of Mexican beer trademarks, including Corona and Modelo, for which it acquired exclusive and perpetual U.S. ownership from Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Constellation currently owns a 38.6% stake in Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC) a leading provider of medicinal and recreational cannabis products in Canada, as of May 2020.
Click here for more cannabis and psychedelics news from Benzinga.
Photo: Model photographed by adriaticfoto via Shutterstock
