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:

Coffee Holding Co (NASDAQ:JVA) 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 Coffee Holding Co (NASDAQ:JVA) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Coffee Holding Co (NASDAQ:JVA) has a Due Diligence Score of 64, which is 34 points higher than the food industry average of 30.

JVA passed 23 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Coffee Holding Co has seen its stock return 26.23% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 124 percentage points.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) is the #2 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: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 11 points higher than the food industry average of 30.

DAR passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Darling Ingredients has seen its stock return 57.24% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 155 percentage points.

Darling Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $79.00, an upside of 57.4% from Darling Ingredients's current stock price of $50.19.

Darling Ingredients stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Darling Ingredients, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 25% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

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 42, which is 12 points higher than the food industry average of 30.

SJM passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. J M Smucker Co has seen its stock return 24.43% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 123 percentage points.

J M Smucker Co has an average 1 year price target of $140.00, an upside of 7.24% from J M Smucker Co's current stock price of $130.55.

J M Smucker Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering J M Smucker Co, 45.45% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 27.27% have issued a Buy, 27.27% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 20 food stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 food stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) has an annual dividend yield of 22.8%, which is 17 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 6.03%. 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 11.11%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 6.03%. 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.

Sanfilippo John B & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) has an annual dividend yield of 8.19%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 6.03%. Sanfilippo John B & Son's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Sanfilippo John B & Son's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sanfilippo John B & Son's dividend payout ratio of 93.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Food stocks were down -1.14% in the last day, and down -1.85% over the last week. Westrock Coffee Co was the among the top losers in the packaged foods industry, dropping -13.31% yesterday.

Westrock Coffee shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 financial results.

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 36 points higher than the food industry average of 21. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Herbalife's stock has gained 66.09% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 164 percentage points.

Coffee Holding Co (NASDAQ:JVA) 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.

Coffee Holding Co has a valuation score of 71, which is 50 points higher than the food industry average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Coffee Holding Co's stock has gained 26.23% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 124 percentage points.

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) 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.

Natures Sunshine Products has a valuation score of 43, which is 22 points higher than the food industry average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Natures Sunshine Products's stock has dropped -20.83% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 77 percentage points.

50% of food stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect food stocks to rise by 32.35% over the next year.

4.88% of food stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 4.88% of food stocks are rated B (Buy), 75.61% are rated C (Hold), 9.76% are rated D (Sell), and 4.88% are rated F (Strong Sell).