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.

Industry: Apparel Retail
B
Apparel is Zen Rated B and is the 48th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries
Learn how the Zen Ratings work
Ticker
Company
DD Score
Valuation Score
Financials Score
Forecast Score
Performance Score
Dividends Score
JILL
JJILL INC
40
57
57
33
10
40
CRI
CARTERS INC
40
43
86
0
30
40
DLTH
DULUTH HOLDINGS INC
31
43
71
0
10
–
TLYS
TILLY's INC
31
14
57
33
20
–
AEO
AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC
39
43
71
11
30
40

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Use Due Diligence Score to quickly analyze stock fundamentals, even if you don't have a finance background. We run time-tested due diligence checks inspired by legendary investors like Warren Buffett, and score each company based on how many they pass/fail.

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Apparel Stocks FAQ

What are the best apparel stocks to buy right now in Oct 2026?

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:

1. Jjill (NYSE:JILL)


Jjill (NYSE:JILL) 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 Jjill (NYSE:JILL) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Jjill (NYSE:JILL) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 6 points higher than the apparel industry average of 34.

JILL passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Jjill has seen its stock return 60.67% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 77 percentage points.

Jjill has an average 1 year price target of $24.50, an upside of 0.12% from Jjill's current stock price of $24.47.

Jjill stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Jjill, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Carters (NYSE:CRI)


Carters (NYSE:CRI) 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 Carters (NYSE:CRI) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Carters (NYSE:CRI) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 6 points higher than the apparel industry average of 34.

CRI passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Carters has seen its stock return 7.72% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 24 percentage points.

Carters has an average 1 year price target of $41.00, an upside of 26.08% from Carters's current stock price of $32.52.

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, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 66.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. Duluth Holdings (NASDAQ:DLTH)


Duluth Holdings (NASDAQ:DLTH) 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 Duluth Holdings (NASDAQ:DLTH) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Duluth Holdings (NASDAQ:DLTH) has a Due Diligence Score of 31, which is -3 points lower than the apparel industry average of 34. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates DLTH as a "B".

DLTH passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Duluth Holdings has seen its stock return 11.7% over the past year, overperforming other apparel stocks by 28 percentage points.

Duluth Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $5.00, an upside of 24.69% from Duluth Holdings's current stock price of $4.01.

Duluth Holdings stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Duluth Holdings, 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.

What are the apparel stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 9 apparel stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 apparel stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Buckle (NYSE:BKE)


Buckle (NYSE:BKE) has an annual dividend yield of 10.16%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the apparel industry average of 2.98%. 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 100.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Shoe Station Group (NASDAQ:SHOE)


Shoe Station Group (NASDAQ:SHOE) has an annual dividend yield of 5.05%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the apparel industry average of 2.98%. 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 71.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Carters (NYSE:CRI)


Carters (NYSE:CRI) has an annual dividend yield of 3.08%, which is the same as the apparel industry average of 2.98%. Carters's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Carters's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Carters's dividend payout ratio of 18.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are apparel stocks up?

Apparel stocks were up 0.6% in the last day, and up 0.35% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why apparel stocks are up.

What are the most undervalued apparel stocks?

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:

1. Carters (NYSE:CRI)


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 11 points higher than the apparel industry average of 32. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Carters's stock has gained 7.72% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 24 percentage points.

2. Caleres (NYSE:CAL)


Caleres (NYSE:CAL) 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.

Caleres has a valuation score of 71, which is 39 points higher than the apparel industry average of 32. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caleres's stock has dropped -8.33% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 8 percentage points.

3. Gap (NYSE:GAP)


Gap (NYSE:GAP) is the third 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 11 points higher than the apparel industry average of 32. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Gap's stock has gained 12.9% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the apparel industry by 29 percentage points.

Are apparel stocks a good buy now?

36.36% of apparel stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect apparel stocks to rise by 25.11% over the next year.

3.33% of apparel stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 23.33% of apparel stocks are rated B (Buy), 60% are rated C (Hold), 10% are rated D (Sell), and 3.33% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the apparel retail industry?

The average P/E ratio of the apparel retail industry is 23.11x.
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Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.