Sectors & IndustriesConsumer CyclicalApparel Retail

Best Apparel Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top apparel stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best apparel stocks to buy now. Learn More.

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 clothing stocks to buy right now are:

Carters (NYSE:CRI) is the #1 top apparel stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Carters (NYSE:CRI) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Carters (NYSE:CRI) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 9 points higher than the apparel industry average of 31.

CRI passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Carters has seen its stock return 27.15% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 62 percentage points.

Carters has an average 1 year price target of $41.50, an upside of 22.38% from Carters's current stock price of $33.91.

Carters stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Carters, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) is the #2 top apparel stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) has a Due Diligence Score of 45, which is 14 points higher than the apparel industry average of 31.

ROST passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Ross Stores has seen its stock return 63.57% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 99 percentage points.

Ross Stores has an average 1 year price target of $266.14, an upside of 10.35% from Ross Stores's current stock price of $241.19.

Ross Stores stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 14 analysts covering Ross Stores, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 21.43% have issued a Buy, 28.57% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) is the #3 top apparel stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) has a Due Diligence Score of 28, which is -3 points lower than the apparel industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CTRN as a "B".

CTRN passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Citi Trends has seen its stock return 104.85% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 140 percentage points.

Citi Trends has an average 1 year price target of $73.00, an upside of 4.72% from Citi Trends's current stock price of $69.71.

Citi Trends stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Citi Trends, 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.

Out of 10 apparel stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 apparel stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Smartbird (NASDAQ:BIRD) has an annual dividend yield of 13.08%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the apparel industry average of 4.21%.

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

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) has an annual dividend yield of 10.06%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the apparel industry average of 4.21%. Buckle's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eight times in the last 10 years. Buckle's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Buckle's dividend payout ratio of 100% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Shoe Station Group (NASDAQ:SHOE) has an annual dividend yield of 4.47%, which is the same as the apparel industry average of 4.21%. Shoe Station Group's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Shoe Station Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Shoe Station Group's dividend payout ratio of 45.6% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Apparel stocks were down -2.14% in the last day, and down -1.66% over the last week. Citi Trends was the among the top losers in the apparel retail industry, dropping -6.24% yesterday.

Citi Trends shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 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 apparel stocks right now are:

Carters (NYSE:CRI) is the most undervalued apparel stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Carters has a valuation score of 43, which is 18 points higher than the apparel industry average of 25. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Carters's stock has gained 27.15% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 62 percentage points.

Gap (NYSE:GAP) is the second most undervalued apparel stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Gap has a valuation score of 43, which is 18 points higher than the apparel industry average of 25. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Gap's stock has dropped -6.28% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 29 percentage points.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) is the third most undervalued apparel stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

American Eagle Outfitters has a valuation score of 43, which is 18 points higher than the apparel industry average of 25. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

American Eagle Outfitters's stock has gained 33.84% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 69 percentage points.

36.36% of apparel stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect apparel stocks to rise by 17.44% over the next year.

3.57% of apparel stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 21.43% of apparel stocks are rated B (Buy), 67.86% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 7.14% are rated F (Strong Sell).