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 +32.52% 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 11 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 Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 3 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 40.

IMKTA passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Ingles Markets has seen its stock return 35.62% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 57 percentage points.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) is the #2 top grocery store stock out of 11 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 Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) has a Due Diligence Score of 55, which is 15 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 40.

NGVC passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage has seen its stock lose -47.06% over the past year, underperforming other grocery store stocks by -26 percentage points.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) is the #3 top grocery store stock out of 11 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 Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 14 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 40.

VLGEA passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Village Super Market has seen its stock return 21.7% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 43 percentage points.

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 3.35%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the grocery store industry average of 1.9%. 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 38.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) has an annual dividend yield of 2.55%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the grocery store industry average of 1.9%. 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 23.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) has an annual dividend yield of 2.06%, which is the same as the grocery store industry average of 1.9%. 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 121.8% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Grocery store stocks were down -0.14% in the last day, and down -2.77% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why grocery store 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 grocery store stocks right now are:

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

Albertsons Companies has a valuation score of 71, which is 27 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 44. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Albertsons Companies's stock has dropped -12.94% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 8 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 100, which is 56 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 44. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Village Super Market's stock has gained 21.7% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 43 percentage points.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) 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.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage has a valuation score of 43, which is -1 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 44. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NGVC a Valuation Rating of "B".

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage's stock has dropped -47.06% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by -26 percentage points.

80% of grocery store stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect grocery store stocks to rise by 30.24% over the next year.

10% of grocery store stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 20% of grocery store stocks are rated B (Buy), 70% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).