Consumer stocks are now as risky as they've ever been. Unemployment's historically high, consumers are spooked, and subpar earnings abound, as companies pay the price for lost competitive advantage or fiscal irresponsibility. But tough times can offer investors the best chance to buy stocks. 

Even if stock prices are low, investors still need to be careful. Many companies simply won't survive the recession in their current form. However, thinning the herd of weaker competitors should lead to big winners in the consumer space when the economy recovers.  I've already highlighted two reasons to sellconsumer-staples company Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB).  Here, I've listed two reasons to pull the "buy" trigger on this personal- and health-care company.

1. Showing shareholders the money
Manufacturer and marketer of well-known brands such as Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies, and Depends, Kimberly-Clark is one of the larger and better-known consumer-staples companies. Among other qualities, this sector often attracts investorswith its substantial dividend yields, made possible by relatively stable cash flows, and in the case of more mature companies, modest capital expenditure requirements.

And compared to peers that compete in similar categories, Kimberly-Clark is clearly a dividend overachiever. Just take a gander at the table below.

Company

Market Cap

Dividend Yield

Payout Ratio

Kimberly-Clark

$24.6 B

4.1%

59.1%

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)

$167.1 B

3.1%

37.5%

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL)

$39.3 B

2.2%

42.1%

Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD)

$4.0 B

1.0%

11.7%

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Continued...