St. Patrick’s Day is here and investors around the world are keen on trying their Irish luck for green returns. This will lead to an upsurge in investments, which act as catalysts to the stocks usually pushing them higher. Will it be possible this year when volatility and uncertainty are ruling the market?

The answer is yes. As per the National Retail Federation, more than 125 million Americans plan to celebrate this year’s Irish event and spend an average of $35.37 though down from $36.52 spent last year. After all, St. Patrick’s Day is mostly associated with wearing green, food, drinking and home decoration with shamrocks, leprechauns and pots of gold.

About 56.5% Americans will be spending on food and beverages, 28% on apparel or accessories and 23.3% on decoration. Further, Americans plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a number of ways with 82.1% wearing green, 31.3% planning a special dinner, 28.7% throwing a party at a bar or a restaurant, and 21.1% attending private parties.

Higher spending on these will definitely boost revenues at retailers, and food and beverage companies. Further, the Irish festival is an opportunity to binge with friends and family at restaurants. So restaurant stocks will see robust performances as well. Betting on stocks and ETFs from these corners of the market should be a winning strategy for investors seeking to hog profits from higher spending on St. Patrick’s Day.

Stocks to Consider

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL)

In the U.S., St. Patrick's Day is associated with the consumption of corned beef though it is not an Irish national dish. Corned beef is used as a substitute for bacon by Irish-American immigrants and a number of companies produce this product in various forms. One such company is Hormel Foods which markets corned beef through the brand name – Hormel Mary Kitchen hash. It also offers several recipes to prepare a wide range of corned beef at home. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The Boston Beer Company Inc. (SAM)

The Irish festive is also the fourth-largest drinking day in the U.S., behind New Year's Eve, Christmas, and Fourth of July. Americans generally consume Guinness beer and Irish whiskey in large amounts, and Samuel Adams Irish Red is one of the famous brands for Irish Red Ale. This is produced by The Boston Beer Company that sells approximately 60 beers under this brand name. SAM has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
 
BJ's Restaurants Inc. (BJRI)

St. Patrick's Day leads to pots of gold for bars and restaurants. While most of the restaurant stocks will get a boost on the day, BJ's Restaurants could be excellent pick. It is the owner and operator of casual dining restaurants in the Unites States. It offers pizzas, beers, appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, salads and desserts under the brand names of BJ's Restaurant and Brewery, BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, BJ's Pizza & Grill and BJ's Grill. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

ETFs to Consider

PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Fund (PBJ)

This product offers exposure to 30 stocks that are engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of food and beverage products, agricultural products and products related to the development of new food technologies by tracking the Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index. From an industrial look, packaged food products accounts for less than half of the portfolio while restaurants and food retail round off the top three. The fund charges 58 bps in annual fees from investors and has a Zacks Rank of 3.

The Restaurant ETF (BITE)

This ETF follows the BITE Index and offers exposure to 45 renowned companies in the restaurant industry that operates a broad variety of restaurant formats raging from quick serve and fast casual to casual dining and fine dining. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% and each firm holds less than 3% of assets.
 
SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)

This product targets the retail segment of the broad U.S. market. It tracks the S&P Retail Select Industry Index, holding 100 securities in its basket with none holding more than 1.64% of total assets. Apparel retail takes the top spot with more than one-fourth share while specialty stores, automotive retail and Internet retail have a double-digit allocation each. The product charges 35 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1.