Cheap gas means more beer

Cheap gas could give U.S. drivers about $700 in extra cash this year, analysts say. For some Americans, that money is going directly into beer.

Liquor companies are already seeing a sales boost from lower gas prices. Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands (STZ), says more cash in drivers' wallets is creating tailwinds for his company's products, which include Corona beer, Robert Mondavi wines and Svedka vodka.

"Any time the consumer has more money in their pocket, it's better for consumer product companies," he said in a quarterly earnings call last week. "Now whether we benefit more than other companies, I am not sure, but it's certainly better to have more money in consumers' pockets, not less."

Analysts at investment bank Nomura say they see a relationship between savings at the pump and spending on beer. The analysts are so confident about the connection that it influenced their global beverage outlook for 2015. "Lower oil prices are likely to be a boost for some economies (especially beer in the U.S.)," they wrote in their report.

The analysts specifically pointed to Molson Coors (TAP) as a beneficiary of lower gas prices, and they upgraded the stock to "buy." Shares of Molson Coors have soared more than 35 percent in the last year, and shares of Constellation are up 33 percent.

Other beer companies have seen less dramatic increases in the last year. Anheuser-Busch's (BUD) stock price has risen 6 percent, while Sam Adams maker Boston Beer (SAM) is up 25 percent.

Beer companies aren't the only beneficiaries of cheap gas, of course. Walmart (WMT) saw its first quarterly sales increase since 2012 this fall. It amounted to only a 0.5 percent rise in U.S. same-store sales, but it was better than the flat growth executives were expecting.

Dollar stores are also hoping for a revenue bump. Howard Levine, CEO of Family Dollar (FDO), said in an earnings call last week that lower gas prices will likely provide some relief for many Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. "I've got to believe that the reduction in gas prices will help us," he said, adding that Family Dollar still faced some headwinds in terms of job growth and a historically low workforce participation rate.

An executive with Sonic (SONC) also said his company is seeing more spending due to cheaper gas. "The average consumer has quite a bit of extra money in their pocket, and we think we're getting our fair share of that," Sonic CFO Steve Vaughan said in an earnings call.

Lower-income Americans and those living in rural areas will see the biggest windfall from the drop in gas prices, analysts at Citi (C) said in a report last week. But they added that the gain across all households should lift consumer spending by more than a percentage point in the first half of this year.