Sectors & IndustriesConsumer DefensiveGrocery Stores

Best Grocery Store Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

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

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is the #1 top grocery store stock out of 13 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 Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 5 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 33.

IMKTA passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Ingles Markets has seen its stock return 36.87% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 66 percentage points.

Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) is the #2 top grocery store stock out of 13 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) has a Due Diligence Score of 27, which is -6 points lower than the grocery store industry average of 33.

KR passed 9 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Kroger Co has seen its stock lose -22.26% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 6 percentage points.

Kroger Co has an average 1 year price target of $69.50, an upside of 21.25% from Kroger Co's current stock price of $57.32.

Kroger Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Kroger Co, 20% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 60% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) is the #3 top grocery store stock out of 13 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 17 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 33.

NGVC passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage has seen its stock lose -15.86% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 13 percentage points.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage has an average 1 year price target of $36.00, an upside of 10.91% from Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage's current stock price of $32.46.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage, 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.

Out of 6 grocery store stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 grocery store stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) has an annual dividend yield of 5.3%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the grocery store industry average of 2.39%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Albertsons Companies's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio of 376.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) has an annual dividend yield of 2.44%, which is the same as the grocery store industry average of 2.39%. Kroger Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Kroger Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Kroger Co's dividend payout ratio of 83.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) has an annual dividend yield of 2.31%, which is the same as the grocery store industry average of 2.39%. Village Super Market's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Village Super Market's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Village Super Market's dividend payout ratio of 24.4% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Grocery store stocks were up 1.25% in the last day, and down -0.38% over the last week. Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage was the among the top gainers in the grocery stores industry, gaining 1.6% yesterday.

Natural Grocers shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 financial results and narrowed its FY26 EPS guidance below estimates.

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 grocery store stocks right now are:

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) is the most undervalued grocery store stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Albertsons Companies has a valuation score of 29, which is 2 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 27. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Albertsons Companies's stock has dropped -38.34% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by -10 percentage points.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) is the second most undervalued grocery store stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Village Super Market has a valuation score of 57, which is 30 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 27. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Village Super Market's stock has gained 23.63% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 52 percentage points.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is the third most undervalued grocery store stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Ingles Markets has a valuation score of 43, which is 16 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ingles Markets's stock has gained 36.87% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 66 percentage points.

37.5% of grocery store stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect grocery store stocks to rise by 86.64% over the next year.

0% of grocery store stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 7.69% of grocery store stocks are rated B (Buy), 76.92% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 15.38% are rated F (Strong Sell).