Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC): Is This Pricey Grocer Worth It?

Bottom line

As a consumer, the biggest annoyance with Natural Grocers is the lack of fresh produce and meat selections. Though my family is likely not the typical natural or organic consumers, Sprouts offers a better shopping experience. If any product selection needs the focus of natural and organic, it would be fruits, vegetables, and meats such as beef and fish. Unfortunately Natural Grocers doesn’t offer those options, while it does offer packed goods from well-known organic producers such as Annie’s. Outside of shopping preferences, the company has produced exceptional results with daily average comps exceeding 10% in Q2 2013. The company doesn’t report Q3 results until August 7.

Though all of these stocks are riding a wave of consumers preferring fresher and more natural foods, the sector is only getting more competitive while the stock valuations are soaring. While the sector will no doubt grow over the next decade, investors will ultimately have a hard time making money paying pricey valuations for stocks facing higher competition.

Mark Holder and Stone Fox Capital Advisors, LLC have no positions in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends The Fresh Market and Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM). The Motley Fool owns shares of Whole Foods Market.

The article Is This Pricey Grocer Worth It? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Mark Holder.

Mark is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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