Sectors & IndustriesConsumer DefensiveGrocery Stores

Best Grocery Store Stocks to Buy Now (2022)

Top grocery store stocks in 2022 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best grocery store stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the grocery stores industry.

According to Zen Score, the 3 best grocery store stocks to buy right now are:

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is the top grocery store stock with a Zen Score of 49, which is 13 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 36. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Ingles Markets has seen its stock return 31.87% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 42 percentage points.

Ingles Markets stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Ingles Markets, 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.

Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) is the second best grocery store stock with a Zen Score of 45, which is 9 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 36. It passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Kroger Co has seen its stock return 20.39% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 30 percentage points.

Kroger Co has an average 1 year price target of $51.85, an upside of 7.1% from Kroger Co's current stock price of $48.41.

Kroger Co stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 14 analysts covering Kroger Co, 14.29% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 21.43% have issued a Buy, 35.71% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 28.57% have issued a Strong Sell.

Caseys General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) is the third best grocery store stock with a Zen Score of 42, which is 6 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 36. It passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Caseys General Stores has seen its stock return 23.13% over the past year, overperforming other grocery store stocks by 33 percentage points.

Caseys General Stores has an average 1 year price target of $253.57, an upside of 8% from Caseys General Stores's current stock price of $234.79.

Caseys General Stores stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Caseys General Stores, 71.43% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 28.57% 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 7 grocery store stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 grocery store stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) has an annual dividend yield of 4.42%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the grocery store industry average of 2.01%. Village Super Market's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times 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 48.5% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) has an annual dividend yield of 3.94%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the grocery store industry average of 2.01%.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage's dividend payout ratio of 31.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) has an annual dividend yield of 2.31%, which is the same as the grocery store industry average of 2.01%.

Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio of 15.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Grocery store stocks were down -1.67% in the last day, and down -0.6% over the last week. Kroger Co was the among the top losers in the grocery stores industry, dropping -1.59% yesterday.

Kroger shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results and raised FY23 adjusted EPS guidance.

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued grocery store stocks right now are:

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) is the most undervalued grocery store stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Ingles Markets has a valuation score of 86, which is 52 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 34. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ingles Markets's stock has gained 31.87% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 42 percentage points.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage (NYSE:NGVC) is the second most undervalued grocery store stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage has a valuation score of 57, which is 23 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 34. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage's stock has dropped -19.83% 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 third most undervalued grocery store stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Village Super Market has a valuation score of 57, which is 23 points higher than the grocery store industry average of 34. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Village Super Market's stock has gained 5.99% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the grocery store industry by 16 percentage points.