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:

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) 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 Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) has a Due Diligence Score of 55, which is 19 points higher than the bank industry average of 36.

ISTR passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Investar Holding has seen its stock return 32.74% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 12 percentage points.

Investar Holding has an average 1 year price target of $31.50, an upside of 7.77% from Investar Holding's current stock price of $29.23.

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

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) 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 Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) has a Due Diligence Score of 12, which is -24 points lower than the bank industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates BMA as a "B".

BMA passed 4 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Macro Bank has seen its stock return 42.12% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 22 percentage points.

Macro Bank has an average 1 year price target of $105.00, an upside of 11.3% from Macro Bank's current stock price of $94.34.

Macro Bank stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Macro Bank, 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.

Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS) 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 Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS) has a Due Diligence Score of 57, which is 21 points higher than the bank industry average of 36.

IFS passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Intercorp Financial Services has seen its stock return 58.47% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 38 percentage points.

Intercorp Financial Services has an average 1 year price target of $56.00, a downside of -5.13% from Intercorp Financial Services's current stock price of $59.03.

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

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 8.08%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.5%. Mechanics Bancorp's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one 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 79.2% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Itau Unibanco Holding Sa (NYSE:ITUB) has an annual dividend yield of 6.92%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.5%. Itau Unibanco Holding Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% forty-two 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 76.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT) has an annual dividend yield of 6.64%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.5%. Newtekone's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% six times in the last 10 years. Newtekone's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Newtekone's dividend payout ratio of 33.3% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Bank stocks were up 0.57% in the last day, and up 1.19% over the last week. Mizuho Financial Group was the among the top gainers in the banks - regional industry, gaining 4.12% yesterday.

Shares of U.S.-listed Japanese companies are trading higher after the country's TOPIX gauge continued to climb due to easing oil prices and improving investor sentiment. Also, investors expect the Bank of Japan to continue policy tightening.

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:

Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) 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.

Op Bancorp has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the bank industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 10.77% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -10 percentage points.

Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF) 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.

Woori Financial Group has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the bank industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Woori Financial Group's stock has gained 22.39% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the bank industry by 2 percentage points.

Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT) 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.

Newtekone has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the bank industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Newtekone's stock has gained 20.45% in the past year. It has performed in line with other stocks in the bank industry.

34.68% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 3.97% over the next year.

0% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 6.47% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 76.26% are rated C (Hold), 17.27% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).