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Best Bank Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top bank stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best bank 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 bank stocks to buy right now are:

Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) is the #1 top bank stock out of 323 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) has a Due Diligence Score of 8, which is -30 points lower than the bank industry average of 38. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates BSBR as a "A".

BSBR passed 3 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Banco Santander Sa has seen its stock return 56.27% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 49 percentage points.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) is the #2 top bank stock out of 323 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: A.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is -2 points lower than the bank industry average of 38. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NWFL as a "B".

NWFL passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Norwood Financial has seen its stock return 3.11% over the past year, underperforming other bank stocks by -4 percentage points.

Norwood Financial has an average 1 year price target of $26.50, a downside of -5.53% from Norwood Financial's current stock price of $28.05.

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

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) is the #3 top bank stock out of 323 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: A.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) has a Due Diligence Score of 64, which is 26 points higher than the bank industry average of 38.

BWFG passed 23 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Bankwell Financial Group has seen its stock return 47.09% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 40 percentage points.

Bankwell Financial Group has an average 1 year price target of $53.00, an upside of 15.67% from Bankwell Financial Group's current stock price of $45.82.

Bankwell Financial Group stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Bankwell Financial Group, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% 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 250 bank stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 bank stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Tfs Financial (NASDAQ:TFSL) has an annual dividend yield of 8.45%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.69%. Tfs Financial's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Tfs Financial's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Tfs Financial's dividend payout ratio of 353.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) has an annual dividend yield of 7.58%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.69%. Washington Trust Bancorp's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Washington Trust Bancorp's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Washington Trust Bancorp's dividend payout ratio of -134.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Affinity Bancshares (NASDAQ:AFBI) has an annual dividend yield of 7.33%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.69%.

Affinity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio of 126.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Bank stocks were down -0.54% in the last day, and down -2.19% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why bank stocks are down.

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 bank stocks right now are:

Cf Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) is the most undervalued bank stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Cf Bankshares has a valuation score of 100, which is 43 points higher than the bank industry average of 57. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cf Bankshares's stock has dropped -2.31% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -10 percentage points.

Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT) is the second most undervalued bank stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Newtekone has a valuation score of 57, which is 0 points higher than the bank industry average of 57. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Newtekone's stock has dropped -11.12% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -18 percentage points.

Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) is the third most undervalued bank stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Pathward Financial has a valuation score of 57, which is 0 points higher than the bank industry average of 57. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pathward Financial's stock has dropped -3.51% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -11 percentage points.

40.74% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 9.02% over the next year.

0.37% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 8.46% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 74.63% are rated C (Hold), 15.81% are rated D (Sell), and 0.74% are rated F (Strong Sell).