Sectors & IndustriesConsumer Defensive

Best Consumer Staple Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top consumer staple stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best consumer staple stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the consumer defensive sector.

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 consumer staple stocks to buy right now are:

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) is the #1 top consumer staple stock out of 252 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 Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) has a Due Diligence Score of 31, which is equal to the consumer staple sector average of 31. It passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Herbalife has seen its stock return 104.72% over the past year, overperforming other consumer staple stocks by 130 percentage points.

Herbalife has an average 1 year price target of $18.00, an upside of 25.79% from Herbalife's current stock price of $14.31.

Herbalife stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Herbalife, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) is the #2 top consumer staple stock out of 252 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: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Natures Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 7 points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 31. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Natures Sunshine Products has seen its stock return 69.2% over the past year, overperforming other consumer staple stocks by 95 percentage points.

Natures Sunshine Products has an average 1 year price target of $33.00, an upside of 36.19% from Natures Sunshine Products's current stock price of $24.23.

Natures Sunshine Products stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts 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.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) is the #3 top consumer staple stock out of 252 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 Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) has a Due Diligence Score of 45, which is 14 points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 31. It passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Village Super Market has seen its stock return 23.77% over the past year, overperforming other consumer staple stocks by 49 percentage points.

Out of 90 consumer staple stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 consumer staple stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the consumer staple sector average of 3.17%.

Krispy Kreme's dividend payout ratio of 0% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) has an annual dividend yield of 14.21%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 3.17%. 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 -140.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) has an annual dividend yield of 9.91%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 3.17%. 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 -1,555.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Consumer staple stocks were up 0.11% in the last day, and down -0.58% over the last week. Westrock Coffee Co was the among the top gainers in the consumer defensive sector, gaining 39.83% yesterday.

Westrock Coffee shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 sales 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 consumer staple stocks right now are:

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) is the most undervalued consumer staple 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 43, which is 19 points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 24. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Herbalife's stock has gained 104.72% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the consumer staple sector by 130 percentage points.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) is the second most undervalued consumer staple stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Afya has a valuation score of 100, which is 76 points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 24. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Afya's stock has dropped -28.2% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the consumer staple sector by -3 percentage points.

Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) is the third most undervalued consumer staple stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Nu Skin Enterprises has a valuation score of 43, which is 19 points higher than the consumer staple sector average of 24. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nu Skin Enterprises's stock has gained 16.23% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the consumer staple sector by 42 percentage points.

39.71% of consumer staple stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect consumer staple stocks to rise by 18.88% over the next year.

4.76% of consumer staple stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 13.69% of consumer staple stocks are rated B (Buy), 71.43% are rated C (Hold), 7.14% are rated D (Sell), and 2.98% are rated F (Strong Sell).