Why Jim Cramer sees opportunity in troubled shares of spice maker McCormick

McCormick (MKC) is increasingly becoming an attractive investment opportunity, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday, as shares of the spice maker sank after a mixed before-the-bell earnings report.

The stock dropped 10%, extending its 2023 slide to about 18.5%. It’s firmly below its pre-Covid-pandemic levels. McCormick shares, which ended 2019 at roughly $85 apiece, traded around $68 each Tuesday.

“The fact that the stock is back to where it was before Covid tells you that there might be some value here,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.”

Overall, Cramer said he believes McCormick’s business is doing well while acknowledging some pain points in the company’s third-quarter results. Volumes declined 2% in the three months ended Aug. 31, which McCormick attributed, in part, to a slower-than-expected economic recovery in China.

“They did not report a good quarter. They have better guidance,” Cramer said, referring to McCormick’s adjusted full-year earnings per share outlook being revised higher.

The recent weakness in McCormick’s stock may be tied to U.S. government bond yields reaching multiyear highs, Cramer suggested. That’s also been a headwind for the overall market lately. “It’s a great company caught up in the vortex of this very moment involving the 10-year [Treasury] tyranny,” he said.

Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, does not own McCormick. However, the Trust does own consumer stocks Procter & Gamble (PG), Estee Lauder (EL) and Constellation Brands (STZ). Mexican beer powerhouse Constellation is set to report its quarter after the bell Thursday.