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 +32.52% 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:

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) is the #1 top food stock out of 66 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is 6 points higher than the food industry average of 28.

NATR passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Natures Sunshine Products has seen its stock return 79.73% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 106 percentage points.

Natures Sunshine Products has an average 1 year price target of $23.00, a downside of -12.65% from Natures Sunshine Products's current stock price of $26.33.

Natures Sunshine Products stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Natures Sunshine Products, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Sanfilippo John B & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) is the #2 top food stock out of 66 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sanfilippo John B & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sanfilippo John B & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 11 points higher than the food industry average of 28.

JBSS passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sanfilippo John B & Son has seen its stock return 11.31% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 37 percentage points.

Sanfilippo John B & Son has an average 1 year price target of $109.00, an upside of 38.66% from Sanfilippo John B & Son's current stock price of $78.61.

Sanfilippo John B & Son stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Sanfilippo John B & Son, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) is the #3 top food stock out of 66 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

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

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 13 points higher than the food industry average of 28.

SENEA passed 13 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Seneca Foods has seen its stock return 60.27% over the past year, overperforming other food stocks by 86 percentage points.

Out of 17 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 14.79%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 4.91%. B&G Foods's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one 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 -24.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) has an annual dividend yield of 7.24%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 4.91%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Conagra Brands's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio of -666.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) has an annual dividend yield of 6.49%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the food industry average of 4.91%. Kraft Heinz Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Kraft Heinz Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Kraft Heinz Co's dividend payout ratio of -43% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Food stocks were up 1.29% in the last day, and up 0.27% over the last week. Sunopta was the among the top gainers in the packaged foods industry, gaining 32.51% yesterday.

SunOpta shares are trading higher after the company announced it will be acquired by Refresco for $6.50 per share in cash.

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 29, which is 8 points higher than the food industry average of 21. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Herbalife's stock has gained 216.39% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 242 percentage points.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) 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.

Nomad Foods 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.

Nomad Foods's stock has dropped -27.65% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the food industry by -2 percentage points.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) 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.

Ingredion has a valuation score of 14, which is -7 points higher than the food industry average of 21. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates INGR a Valuation Rating of "A".

Ingredion's stock has dropped -5.71% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the food industry by 20 percentage points.

36.84% of food stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect food stocks to rise by 15.96% 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), 72.09% are rated C (Hold), 11.63% are rated D (Sell), and 2.33% are rated F (Strong Sell).