IMKTA vs ACI vs NGVC Stock Comparison

Ingles Markets, Albertsons Companies and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IMKTA Ingles Markets Inc
$83.63 -1.7% 1M +16.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.59B
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.42B
Div. yield
0.81%
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
3 wins
ACI Albertsons Companies, Inc.
$13.16 +13.0% 1M -28.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.19B
P/E
196.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.19B
Div. yield
5.02%
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage 7, Ingles Markets 3, Albertsons Companies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIMKTAACINGVCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.59B $6.19B $694.14M ACI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.3x 196.1x 14.6x NGVC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.9x — 15.1x IMKTA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.0% -5.1% +2.0% NGVC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% 0.0% 3.5% NGVC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% 4.2% 21.0% NGVC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x — -0.2x NGVC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.81% 5.02% 1.99% ACI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.2% -28.7% -23.7% IMKTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.9%/yr -15.7%/yr +19.9%/yr NGVC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.5% 39.6% 41.1% IMKTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 36/100 69/100 NGVC

Percentile Scorecard

IMKTAACINGVC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisIMKTAACINGVC
Valuation 90 #5 of 40 64 #15 of 40 69 #13 of 40
Growth 49 #20 of 38 3 #37 of 38 68 #13 of 38
Profitability 46 #20 of 36 23 #28 of 36 69 #12 of 36
Financial Health 72 #12 of 40 3 #39 of 40 74 #11 of 40
Shareholder Returns 52 #14 of 28 89 #4 of 28 67 #10 of 28
Overall 62 36 69
  • IMKTA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • ACI ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • NGVC ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodIMKTAACINGVCSPY
1 month -1.7%+13.0%-2.0% +0.9%
3 months -7.9%+9.0%-8.5% +5.9%
6 months -6.1%-20.1%+8.5% +8.5%
Year to date +22.0%-23.4%+20.2% +13.3%
1 year +16.2%-28.7%-23.7% +12.4%
3 years +4.4%-39.4%+143.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +1.4%-15.4%+34.6% +23.5%
5 years +20.9%-57.5%+147.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +3.9%-15.7%+19.9% +11.0%
10 years +103.7%—+150.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year +7.4%—+9.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIMKTAACINGVCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.5%39.6%41.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.7%45.5%43.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.04-0.24-0.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.64-0.73-0.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.0%-70.1%-64.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.2%-29.5%-23.7% -0.9%
52-week high $95.23$18.66$39.50 $779.14
52-week low $68.55$11.02$23.71 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleIMKTAACINGVC
P/E now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 21.7x 196.1xmedian 21.7x 14.6xmedian 21.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.1xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 9.3x —median 9.3x 7.1xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 17.1x 11.3xmedian 17.1x 30.6xmedian 17.1x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 2.9x 4.3xmedian 2.9x 2.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -0.67median 1.02 -2.82median 1.02 0.43median 1.02

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsIMKTAACINGVC
Revenue $5.42B $77.19B $1.34B
Gross profit $1.33B $20.93B $398.34M
Operating income $143.12M $452.80M $63.25M
Net income $103.99M $32.50M $47.64M
Free cash flow $149.58M – $22.71M
EPS (diluted) $4.44 $0.07 $2.05
Cash & equivalents – $282.00M $17.47M
Total debt $500.53M $35.41B $1.45M
Shares (diluted) 23.44M 488.20M 23.26M
Enterprise value $1.59B $5.25B $615.63M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricIMKTAACINGVC
P/E 15.3x 196.1x 14.6x
P/FCF 10.6x 11.3x 30.6x
P/Operating cash flow 6.4x – 9.8x
P/S 0.3x 0.1x 0.5x
P/B 0.9x 4.3x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 0.9x -10.5x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x – 7.1x
EV/EBIT 14.6x 33.7x 10.7x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.2x 0.5x
EV/FCF 14.0x – 29.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.4x – 9.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.67 -2.82 0.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAACINGVC
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.0% -5.1% 2.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% -0.7% 6.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.1% -5.9% 1.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.8% -1.5% 7.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.4% -70.6% 8.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -23.3% -40.0% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 84.3% -96.7% 9.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.1% -71.3% 34.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.3% -96.2% 9.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -22.9% -69.5% 33.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.7% – 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% – 15.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,714% – -34.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% – 27.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAACINGVC
Gross margin 24.5% 27.1% 29.6%
EBITDA margin 4.9% – 7.1%
Operating margin 2.6% 0.6% 4.7%
Pretax margin 2.5% 0.0% 4.5%
Net margin 1.9% 0.0% 3.5%
FCF margin 2.8% – 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin 4.6% – 5.3%
Return on equity 6.2% 2.0% 20.3%
Return on assets 4.0% 0.1% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 5.0% 4.2% 21.0%
Return on capital employed 6.3% 2.5% 12.0%
Asset turnover 2.1x 2.9x 2.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x – 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMKTAACINGVC
Debt / assets 19.0% 34.3% 0.2%
Debt / equity 0.3x 6.5x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x – -0.2x
Debt / FCF 3.3x – 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 36.0% 94.7% 65.2%
Equity / assets 64.0% 5.3% 34.8%
Interest coverage 7.7x – 23.4x
Current ratio 3.2x 0.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio – 0.2x 0.2x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.46 3.03 3.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIMKTAACINGVC
Dividend yield 0.8% 5.0% 2.0%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 5.0% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 11.8% – 27.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 8.2% – 57.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% – 24.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.0% – 13.0%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusIMKTAACINGVC
Forward P/E 13.9xFY2023 – 15.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.02FY2023 – $2.00FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – -7.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.3% – +19.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2023 – $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – – +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% – +0.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMKTAACINGVC
Held by institutions 97.6% 93.5% 40.0%
Institutions holding 236 447 158
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +1.7% +6.1%
Institutions buying 116 234 90
Institutions selling 70 163 39
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.44 2.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

IMKTAACINGVC
IMKTA 1.00 0.42 0.37
ACI 0.42 1.00 0.37
NGVC 0.37 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMKTA, ACI and NGVC?

Albertsons Companies (ACI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) $1.59B, Albertsons Companies (ACI) $6.19B, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) $694.14M.

Which stock is cheaper, IMKTA, ACI and NGVC?

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 15.3x, Albertsons Companies (ACI) 196.1x, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 14.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) is cheapest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 13.9x, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 15.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +1.0%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) -5.1%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) +2.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) has the highest net margin (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 1.9%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) 0.0%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 3.5%). On return on invested capital, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) leads (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 5.0%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) 4.2%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 21.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ingles Markets (IMKTA) returned the most: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +16.2%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) -28.7%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) -23.7%. Over five years, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) compounded fastest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +3.9%/yr, Albertsons Companies (ACI) -15.7%/yr, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) +19.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Albertsons Companies (ACI) has the highest dividend yield: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 0.81%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) 5.02%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 1.99%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) has been the steadiest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 25.5%, Albertsons Companies (ACI) 39.6%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 41.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IMKTA, ACI and NGVC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.