A portfolio of stocks I started and named Volio Folio, September 3, holds 52 dividend dogs. Volio is the fifth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per-week pace) since 2014. Five portfolios = V for Volio!

I'm reviewing today the fourth of five consumer defensive sector stocks striving to be picked to join the Volio folio collection. This would be the fourth pick for Volio!

This consumer defensive sector includes thirteen industries all related to providing conveniently packaged goods we've just gotta have. Industries like: beverages, brewed, soft, or distilled; confections; discount stores; education & training; farm products; food distribution; grocery stores; household & personal products; packaged goods; pharmaceutical retailers; tobacco.

My subject today is al small-cap food distribution company named SpartanNash Co. Their trading ticker symbol is SPTN. I last reported about SpartanNash Co. on December 4, 2018, for my Ivy portfolio.

SpartanNash Company is a multi-regional grocery distributor and retailer. The company operates in the United States and is segmented into Military, Food Distribution, and Retail.

Its Military segment consists of the distribution of products to The United States military commissaries, which provide food to active-duty, guard, reserve, or retired members of the military at discounted prices.

The Food distribution segment proves to be the principal division, deriving the revenue streams for the company.

Its retail division consists of supplying both independent grocery retailers and owned retail stores.

The company was formerly known as Spartan Stores, Inc. and changed its name to SpartanNash Company in November 2013.

SpartanNash Company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend-paying equities or funds like SpartanNash Co. (SPTN):

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, several other keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest, or not.

Those three basic keys, however, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.

SPTN Price

Spartan's price per share closed at $12.45 yesterday. A year ago its price was $20.20. In a year its price decreased by $7.75 or 38.4%.

Assuming Spartan's stock trades in the range of $10 to $16.00 this next year, Spartan's recent $12.45 price could rise by $1.55 and get to $14.00 by late September 2020. If the past month's momentum holds.

SPTN Dividends

Spartan's latest declared quarterly dividend was $0.19 paid September 30th.

That $0.19 Q payout added to the previous three equates to $0.76 annually and yields 6.1% based on yesterday's $12.45 closing price.

SPTN Gains?

Adding the $0.76 annual estimated dividend to my $1.55 estimate of Spartan's price upside shows a $2.31 potential gross gain, per share, which will be reduced by costs to trade these shares.

Say we put a little under $1,000.00 today into Spartan's at its $12.45 recent stock price, we'd buy 80 shares of SpartanNash Co. (SPTN) shares.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale will cost us under $0.13 per share.

Subtract that $0.13 brokerage cost from the estimated $2.31 gross estimated gain leaves a net gain of $2.18 X 80 shares = $174.40 or a 17.5% net gain on a $996.00 investment.

Therefore, SpartanNash Co.,whose trading ticker symbol is SPTN now shows a possible net gain of 17.5% including a 6.10% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to learn if SpartanNash Co. (SPTN) is worth your time and money.