Company Overview
Village Super Market, Inc. operates a chain of supermarkets across the United States, offering a comprehensive range of products including grocery items, meat, produce, dairy, deli, seafood, prepared foods, bakery and frozen goods, as well as non-food items such as health and beauty care products. The company functions within the Consumer Defensive sector and specifically the Grocery Stores industry, positioning it as a provider of essential goods that maintain demand regardless of broader economic cycles. As of the latest data, the entity holds a market capitalization of $616.78M and generated total revenue of $2.39B over the trailing twelve months, employing a workforce of 2160 individuals. These valuation and revenue figures indicate that the company maintains a substantial presence in the regional grocery landscape, serving a significant customer base while operating with a scale that supports diversified product offerings and established supply chain logistics.
Financial Health
The company reported a revenue of $2.39B and net income of $54.74M for the trailing twelve months, with an EBITDA of $110.75M, revealing a cost structure where operating expenses and taxes consume a significant portion of gross sales before reaching the bottom line. This gap between revenue and net income highlights the inherent thin margins typical of the grocery retail sector, where high volume is required to offset the substantial costs associated with perishable inventory and store operations. Free cash flow stands at $42.97M, which demonstrates the company's ability to generate cash after capital expenditures, providing a measure of financial flexibility to fund operations or manage working capital needs without relying solely on external financing. The company's profitability is defined by a gross margin of 28.3%, an operating margin of 3.7%, and a profit margin of 2.4%, where the low operating and profit margins reflect the intense competitive environment and the necessity of high sales volume to achieve meaningful returns. On the balance sheet, total cash holdings of $160.10M are offset by total debt of $329.14M, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.70, which suggests a leveraged capital structure typical for retailers that utilize debt to finance expansion and working capital. Liquidity is maintained at a current ratio of 1.23, indicating that the company possesses sufficient current assets to cover its short-term liabilities, though the buffer is relatively narrow for a capital-intensive industry. Management effectiveness is further illustrated by a Return on Equity of 11.4% and a Return on Assets of 4.6%, metrics that show the company is generating returns on shareholder capital that exceed the cost of debt but operate on asset levels that require efficient utilization to sustain profitability.
Valuation Assessment
Village Super Market, Inc. currently trades with a P/E Ratio (TTM) of 10.95, while the Forward P/E is listed as N/A, implying that analysts do not have sufficient consensus data to project future earnings multiples or that the market is pricing in uncertainty regarding upcoming earnings growth trajectories. The Price to Book ratio stands at 1.19, suggesting that the stock is trading at a slight premium over its book value, which is consistent with companies that possess intangible assets or stable cash flows that warrant a valuation above their historical accounting net assets. Alternative valuation metrics such as a Price to Sales ratio of 0.26 and an EV/EBITDA of 7.09 provide context for the company's valuation relative to its sales volume and operating earnings, indicating a relatively low multiple compared to high-growth tech sectors but appropriate for a mature, cash-generating defensive stock. The 52-Week High is recorded at $43.35 and the 52-Week Low at $30.08, establishing a trading range within which the current market price fluctuates based on daily volume and sentiment shifts. The Beta value of 0.48 indicates that the stock exhibits significantly lower volatility than the broader market, moving less than half as much as the S&P 500 in response to market-wide swings, which aligns with its classification as a defensive consumer staple.
Growth & Income
Revenue growth for the trailing twelve months was 6.9%, while earnings growth was recorded at 5.9%, indicating that earnings are growing at a slightly slower pace than revenue, which is often a characteristic of mature retail businesses where revenue expansion drives volume but margin compression or increased operating costs temper the rate of profit growth. The company maintains a dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 26.2%, a conservative payout level that suggests the dividend is highly sustainable given the earnings generation and leaves ample room for retention of earnings to support future growth or debt reduction. Since the payout ratio is well below 100%, the company retains the majority of its profits rather than distributing them fully, allowing for reinvestment into store upgrades, inventory management, or strategic acquisitions to sustain long-term operational efficiency. The overall growth and income profile presents a balanced case of modest but consistent revenue expansion coupled with a reliable, low-risk dividend yield that appeals to income-focused investors seeking stability within the consumer defensive sector.