Sectors & IndustriesFinancial ServicesBanks - Regional

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 +28.50% 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:

Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) is the #1 top bank stock out of 312 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 Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is -3 points lower than the bank industry average of 37. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CZNC as a "B".

CZNC passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Citizens & Northern has seen its stock return 47.87% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 23 percentage points.

Firstsun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) is the #2 top bank stock out of 312 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 Firstsun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Firstsun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) has a Due Diligence Score of 47, which is 10 points higher than the bank industry average of 37.

FSUN passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Firstsun Capital Bancorp has seen its stock return 22.42% over the past year, underperforming other bank stocks by -2 percentage points.

Firstsun Capital Bancorp has an average 1 year price target of $45.50, an upside of 15.25% from Firstsun Capital Bancorp's current stock price of $39.48.

Firstsun Capital Bancorp stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Firstsun Capital Bancorp, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) is the #3 top bank stock out of 312 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 Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the bank industry average of 37.

OPBK passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Op Bancorp has seen its stock return 12.23% over the past year, underperforming other bank stocks by -12 percentage points.

Op Bancorp has an average 1 year price target of $17.75, an upside of 19.37% from Op Bancorp's current stock price of $14.87.

Op Bancorp stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Op Bancorp, 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.

Out of 264 bank stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 bank stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) has an annual dividend yield of 10.63%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.64%. Mechanics Bancorp's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Mechanics Bancorp's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Mechanics Bancorp's dividend payout ratio of 130% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Bank Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) has an annual dividend yield of 8.03%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.64%. Bank Bradesco's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% twenty-seven times in the last 10 years. Bank Bradesco's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Bank Bradesco's dividend payout ratio of 63.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Itau Unibanco Holding Sa (NYSE:ITUB) has an annual dividend yield of 7.78%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.64%. Itau Unibanco Holding Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% forty times in the last 10 years. Itau Unibanco Holding Sa's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Itau Unibanco Holding Sa's dividend payout ratio of 77.7% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Bank stocks were down -0.06% in the last day, and up 0.47% over the last week. Shf Holdings was the among the top losers in the banks - regional industry, dropping -36% yesterday.

Shares of banks and financial services companies are trading lower as hotter-than-expected inflation data and hawkish comments from Fed Waller reinforce concerns that interest rates could remain elevated for longer. Rising borrowing costs could dampen loan demand, slow credit growth, and weigh on dealmaking activity, while increased funding costs may pressure banks’ profitability and lending margins.

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:

Northpointe Bancshares (NYSE:NPB) 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.

Northpointe Bancshares has a valuation score of 43, which is 1 points higher than the bank industry average of 42. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Northpointe Bancshares's stock has dropped -2.04% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -27 percentage points.

Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) 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.

Op Bancorp has a valuation score of 71, which is 29 points higher than the bank industry average of 42. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 12.23% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -12 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 15 points higher than the bank industry average of 42. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pathward Financial's stock has gained 8.46% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -16 percentage points.

35.84% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 10.67% over the next year.

0% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 6.36% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 80.57% are rated C (Hold), 12.72% are rated D (Sell), and 0.35% are rated F (Strong Sell).