Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NGVC) Key Metrics
NGVC valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $705.4M
- Enterprise value
- $988.8M
- P/E (TTM)
- 14.9 10-yr median 19.1
- Forward P/E
- 12.4
- PEG ratio
- 1.44
- Price / sales
- 0.5 10-yr median 0.3
- Price / book
- 2.9 10-yr median 1.8
- EV / EBITDA
- 10.3 10-yr median 10.7
- Dividend yield
- 1.96% $0.60 a year
- Beta
- 1.22
NGVC key metrics, FY2016–FY2025
Fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 · U.S. dollarsNGVC valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
NGVC returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
NGVC per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
NGVC financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
NGVC efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
NGVC valuation history
NGVC returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
NGVC debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
NGVC cash returned to shareholders
NGVC price vs earnings per share
NGVC key metrics
FY2016–FY2025| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | FY2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $930.2M | $685.4M | $294.8M | $246.2M | $254.8M | $222.6M | $225.3M | $378.6M | $125.3M | $251.2M |
| Enterprise value | $1.25B | $1.02B | $646.6M | $627.5M | $632.7M | $959.4M | $277.3M | $423.5M | $180.6M | $306.5M |
| P/E ratio | 20.0 | 20.2 | 12.7 | 11.5 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 23.9 | 29.9 | 18.2 | 21.9 |
| Price / sales | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Price / book | 4.4 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 |
| Price / free cash flow | 38.9 | 19.5 | 11.1 | 29.8 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 48.5 | 19.8 | — | — |
| Price / operating cash flow | 16.8 | 9.3 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 6.0 | 8.8 | 3.1 | 8.7 |
| EV / sales | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| EV / EBITDA | 13.3 | 13.1 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 16.3 | 6.1 | 9.5 | 4.1 | 6.7 |
| EV / free cash flow | 52.0 | 29.2 | 24.4 | 76.1 | 24.7 | 26.0 | 59.7 | 22.1 | — | — |
| Earnings yield | 5.0% | 5.0% | 7.9% | 8.7% | 8.1% | 9.0% | 4.2% | 3.3% | 5.5% | 4.6% |
| Free cash flow yield | 2.6% | 5.1% | 9.0% | 3.4% | 10.0% | 16.6% | 2.1% | 5.1% | −0.3% | −9.9% |
| Dividend yield | 1.2% | 4.6% | 3.1% | 3.7% | 20.2% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 1.7% | 5.0% | 0.0% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 1.3% | 4.9% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 20.3% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1.8% | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $40.00 | $29.69 | $12.91 | $10.79 | $11.22 | $9.86 | $9.99 | $16.89 | $5.58 | $11.16 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $57.23 | $53.79 | $49.95 | $47.76 | $46.48 | $45.92 | $40.06 | $37.88 | $34.23 | $31.35 |
| Earnings per share | $2.00 | $1.47 | $1.02 | $0.94 | $0.91 | $0.89 | $0.42 | $0.56 | $0.31 | $0.51 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $2.38 | $3.20 | $2.83 | $1.74 | $2.37 | $2.95 | $1.66 | $1.91 | $1.82 | $1.28 |
| Free cash flow per share | $1.03 | $1.52 | $1.16 | $0.36 | $1.13 | $1.64 | $0.21 | $0.85 | −$0.02 | −$1.11 |
| Cash per share | $0.74 | $0.38 | $0.80 | $0.53 | $1.04 | $1.26 | $0.28 | $0.42 | $0.29 | $0.18 |
| Book value per share | $9.13 | $7.55 | $7.48 | $6.83 | $6.28 | $7.67 | $6.96 | $6.55 | $5.96 | $5.63 |
| Tangible book value per share | $8.41 | $6.96 | $6.86 | $6.21 | $5.77 | $7.20 | $6.57 | $6.29 | $5.71 | $5.38 |
| Dividends per share | $0.47 | $1.38 | $0.40 | $0.40 | $2.27 | $0.28 | $0.28 | $0.28 | $0.28 | $0.00 |
| Capex per share | $1.35 | $1.68 | $1.67 | $1.38 | $1.25 | $1.31 | $1.45 | $1.06 | $1.84 | $2.39 |
| Debt per share | $14.28 | $15.01 | $16.21 | $17.24 | $17.68 | $33.90 | $2.58 | $2.42 | $2.75 | $2.64 |
| Shares outstanding | 23.3M | 23.1M | 22.8M | 22.8M | 22.7M | 22.6M | 22.6M | 22.4M | 22.5M | 22.5M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +0.7% | +1.1% | +0.1% | +0.5% | +0.6% | +0.1% | +0.6% | −0.2% | −0.2% | +0.0% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 24.0% | 19.7% | 14.2% | 14.3% | 13.0% | 12.1% | 6.2% | 9.0% | 5.3% | 9.5% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 9.4% | 7.2% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 6.7% | 7.9% | 5.1% | 8.4% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 7.0% | 5.1% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 3.0% | 4.2% | 2.4% | 4.4% |
| Return on tangible assets | 7.1% | 5.3% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 4.2% | 2.3% | 4.1% |
| Free cash flow margin | 1.8% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 0.8% | 2.4% | 3.6% | 0.5% | 2.3% | −0.0% | −3.5% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.19 | 2.17 | 2.78 | 1.86 | 2.62 | 3.32 | 3.97 | 3.39 | 5.93 | 2.51 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $332.0M | $346.5M | $370.2M | $393.4M | $401.5M | $765.3M | $58.2M | $54.3M | $61.8M | $59.3M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $17.1M | $8.9M | $18.3M | $12.0M | $23.7M | $28.5M | $6.2M | $9.4M | $6.5M | $4.0M |
| Net debt | $314.9M | $337.6M | $351.8M | $381.3M | $377.8M | $736.8M | $52.0M | $44.9M | $55.3M | $55.3M |
| Debt / equity | 1.56 | 1.99 | 2.17 | 2.52 | 2.81 | 4.42 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.46 | 0.47 |
| Debt / assets | 0.50 | 0.53 | 0.55 | 0.59 | 0.61 | 1.12 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.21 | 0.21 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.36 | 4.33 | 5.81 | 6.57 | 6.52 | 12.50 | 1.14 | 1.01 | 1.27 | 1.20 |
| Current ratio | 1.06 | 0.90 | 0.99 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1.11 | 1.38 | 1.39 | 1.51 | 1.46 |
| Quick ratio | 0.22 | 0.16 | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.26 | 0.33 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.20 | 0.17 |
| Interest coverage | 20.2 | 11.2 | 9.6 | 12.7 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 6.7 |
| Working capital | $9.3M | −$17.1M | −$1.5M | $2.9M | $1.9M | $14.3M | $31.9M | $31.3M | $36.7M | $30.8M |
| Invested capital | $527.3M | $511.9M | $522.7M | $537.1M | $520.6M | $909.8M | $208.9M | $191.7M | $189.2M | $182.0M |
| Tangible asset value | $195.5M | $160.6M | $156.7M | $141.7M | $131.0M | $162.6M | $148.3M | $141.1M | $128.2M | $121.1M |
| Net current asset value | −$290.0M | −$334.2M | −$345.8M | −$366.6M | −$376.7M | −$365.3M | −$55.0M | −$49.4M | −$57.9M | −$58.2M |
| Graham number | $20.26 | $15.80 | $13.09 | $11.99 | $11.32 | $12.36 | $8.08 | $9.12 | $6.41 | $8.04 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$15.72 | −$17.44 | −$18.06 | −$18.87 | −$19.02 | −$18.77 | −$4.97 | −$4.47 | −$4.86 | −$4.69 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $11.0M | $31.9M | $9.1M | $9.1M | $51.5M | $6.3M | $6.3M | $6.3M | $6.3M | $0 |
| Share buybacks (net) | $1.3M | $1.4M | $181,000 | $403,000 | $340,000 | $337,000 | $421,000 | $581,000 | $261,000 | $829,000 |
| Dividend payout ratio | 23.7% | 93.9% | 39.1% | 42.4% | 250.0% | 31.5% | 66.9% | 49.8% | 91.4% | 0.0% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 51.3% | 95.0% | 35.0% | 114.8% | 202.4% | 18.0% | 144.6% | 35.9% | — | — |
| Capex / revenue | 2.4% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 2.8% | 5.4% | 7.6% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 56.7% | 52.4% | 59.0% | 79.2% | 52.5% | 44.5% | 87.6% | 55.3% | 100.9% | 186.5% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.99 | 1.25 | 1.32 | 1.13 | 0.95 | 0.95 | 1.13 | 0.81 | 1.40 | 2.11 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| SG&A / revenue | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.7% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 49.6 | 49.9 | 52.3 | 49.8 | 48.0 | 47.5 | 52.3 | 55.0 | 59.0 | 58.4 |
| Days payables outstanding | 33.1 | 35.2 | 34.1 | 32.6 | 33.0 | 32.0 | 34.1 | 34.5 | 36.2 | 37.5 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 19.9 | 18.2 | 21.6 | 20.4 | 17.9 | 17.9 | 20.1 | 22.5 | 24.8 | 22.5 |
| Receivables turnover | 108.30 | 106.09 | 107.13 | 114.79 | 124.12 | 152.72 | 184.46 | 176.92 | 178.70 | 223.15 |
| Payables turnover | 11.02 | 10.37 | 10.71 | 11.19 | 11.05 | 11.39 | 10.70 | 10.57 | 10.08 | 9.73 |
| Inventory turnover | 7.36 | 7.31 | 6.98 | 7.32 | 7.61 | 7.68 | 6.98 | 6.64 | 6.19 | 6.25 |
| Asset turnover | 2.01 | 1.87 | 1.71 | 1.65 | 1.58 | 2.06 | 2.85 | 2.80 | 2.64 | 2.73 |
| Average receivables | $12.3M | $11.7M | $10.6M | $9.5M | $8.5M | $6.8M | $4.9M | $4.8M | $4.3M | $3.2M |
| Average payables | $84.7M | $84.5M | $76.0M | $70.1M | $69.1M | $66.2M | $62.1M | $59.0M | $55.2M | $51.8M |
| Average inventory | $126.8M | $120.0M | $116.5M | $107.2M | $100.4M | $98.2M | $95.2M | $93.9M | $90.0M | $80.6M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
Computed from NGVC's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed December 11, 2025) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
NGVC valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (September 30, 2025), Natural Grocers traded at 20.0 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 19.1. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 14.9 and the forward P/E is 12.4. Natural Grocers earned a return on equity of 24.0% and a return on invested capital of 9.4% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $332.0 million of debt and $17.1 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $314.9 million. It returned $12.3 million to shareholders: $11.0 million in dividends and $1.3 million in share buybacks, 51% of free cash flow. The share count rose 3.3% from 22.5M to 23.3M over 9 years.
See the NGVC income statement, the NGVC chart for price history, or the NGVC stock overview for the latest quote and news.
NGVC key metrics FAQ
What is Natural Grocers's P/E ratio?
Natural Grocers's trailing P/E ratio is 14.9 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 12.4. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 20.0, compared with a 10-year median of 19.1.
What is Natural Grocers's EV/EBITDA?
Natural Grocers's enterprise value was 13.3 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $1.2 billion, EBITDA $93.8 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 10.3.
What is Natural Grocers's return on equity?
Natural Grocers's return on equity (ROE) was 24.0% in fiscal 2025: net income of $46.4 million on average shareholders' equity of $193.3 million.
What is Natural Grocers's ROIC?
Natural Grocers's return on invested capital was 9.4% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Natural Grocers have?
Natural Grocers had total debt of $332.0 million at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56 and $314.9 million of net debt (3.36 times EBITDA).
What is Natural Grocers's dividend yield?
Natural Grocers's forward dividend yield is 1.96%. Natural Grocers paid $11.0 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($0.47 per share), a payout ratio of 23.7%.
Does Natural Grocers buy back its shares?
Yes. Natural Grocers spent $1.3 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed +0.7% over the year, to 23.3M..
What is Natural Grocers's free cash flow yield?
Natural Grocers generated $23.9 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 2.6% on its market value at year-end ($930.2 million).
What is Natural Grocers's current ratio?
Natural Grocers's current ratio was 1.06 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 1.06 times current liabilities.