Sectors & IndustriesConsumer DefensivePackaged Foods

Best Food Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top food stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best food stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best food stocks to buy right now are:

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) is the #1 top food stock out of 62 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 7 points higher than the food industry average of 32.

DAR passed 13 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Darling Ingredients has seen its stock return 101.42% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 200 percentage points.

Darling Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $74.00, an upside of 13.22% from Darling Ingredients's current stock price of $65.36.

Darling Ingredients stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Darling Ingredients, 62.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 12.5% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) is the #2 top food stock out of 62 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 17 points higher than the food industry average of 32.

SENEA passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Seneca Foods has seen its stock return 78.18% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 177 percentage points.

J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM) is the #3 top food stock out of 62 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 11 points higher than the food industry average of 32.

SJM passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. J M Smucker Co has seen its stock return 15.25% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 114 percentage points.

J M Smucker Co has an average 1 year price target of $134.00, an upside of 8.99% from J M Smucker Co's current stock price of $122.95.

J M Smucker Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering J M Smucker Co, 38.46% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 23.08% have issued a Buy, 38.46% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 21 food stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 food stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Pilgrims Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the food industry average of 6.19%. Pilgrims Pride's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Pilgrims Pride's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Pilgrims Pride's dividend payout ratio of 91.3% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) has an annual dividend yield of 23.09%, which is 17 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 6.19%. B&G Foods's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. B&G Foods's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

B&G Foods's dividend payout ratio of -74.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) has an annual dividend yield of 12.55%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 6.19%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Flowers Foods's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio of 321.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Food stocks were down -0.94% in the last day, and down -2.23% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why food stocks are down.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued food stocks right now are:

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) is the most undervalued food stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Herbalife has a valuation score of 57, which is 31 points higher than the food industry average of 26. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Herbalife's stock has gained 28.13% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 127 percentage points.

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) is the second most undervalued food stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Natures Sunshine Products has a valuation score of 71, which is 45 points higher than the food industry average of 26. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Natures Sunshine Products's stock has dropped -22.27% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 76 percentage points.

Bellring Brands (NYSE:BRBR) is the third most undervalued food stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Bellring Brands has a valuation score of 29, which is 3 points higher than the food industry average of 26. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Bellring Brands's stock has dropped -75.52% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 23 percentage points.

43.9% of food stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect food stocks to rise by 30.63% over the next year.

2.33% of food stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 11.63% of food stocks are rated B (Buy), 65.12% are rated C (Hold), 11.63% are rated D (Sell), and 9.3% are rated F (Strong Sell).