Shares of spice maker McCormick & Co. (MKC) got a little kick of their own on Wednesday after the company released quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations by a penny per share. The stock rose more than 3% by afternoon.

The positive surprise, though, comes just three weeks after the company lowered its 2005 profit forecast because of a shortfall in sales to its industrial customers and concerns over the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Analysts lowered their own estimates accordingly, and the share price plummeted 12% on September 7. The stock is down about 16% for the year.

Whatever the short-term ups and downs, however, McCormick and its stock should be just fine over the next several years. The latest issue of Kiplinger's Safe Investing, in fact, identifies McCormick as a stock to keep for the long haul.

The 116-year-old company dominates the spice trade, selling more than one-third of the seasonings in U.S. kitchens. It also has expanded into sauces, marinades and prepackaged foods, such as New Orleans-style black beans and rice sold under the Zatarain's brand, which the company purchased in 2003. It also sells to a large number of restaurants and food companies.

McCormick isn't without its unpredictable elements. For example, its total profits suffered by a few pennies per share in the first half of 2005 because world vanilla prices sank and the firm had to recognize that its bulging inventory had lost value. Dylan Cathers, an analyst at Value Line, says the company has mostly gotten past this problem. And sometimes commodity prices go the other way -- and McCormick benefits.

All told, McCormick's business is highly profitable, and growth should be steady. Sales should increase 5% annually, with profits growing 10% a year (or close to it). And the company has been upping its dividend: The shares currently yield 2.1%.

At $32, the stock trades at about 18 times the $1.75 that analysts figure the company will earn in the fiscal year that starts in November.

--Lisa Dixon and Jeffrey Kosnett

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