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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:

Bank Of The James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ) 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 +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Bank Of The James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Bank Of The James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 2 points higher than the bank industry average of 39.

BOTJ passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Bank Of The James Financial Group has seen its stock return 58.53% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 37 percentage points.

Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG) 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 +19.88% per year. Learn more.

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

Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 7 points higher than the bank industry average of 39.

CHMG passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Chemung Financial has seen its stock return 48.96% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 27 percentage points.

Chemung Financial has an average 1 year price target of $64.00, a downside of -7.58% from Chemung Financial's current stock price of $69.25.

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

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) 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 +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) has a Due Diligence Score of 58, which is 19 points higher than the bank industry average of 39.

ISTR passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Investar Holding has seen its stock return 52.36% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 31 percentage points.

Investar Holding has an average 1 year price target of $31.50, an upside of 10.8% from Investar Holding's current stock price of $28.43.

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.

Out of 267 bank stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 bank stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Bayfirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the bank industry average of 2.67%.

Bayfirst Financial's dividend payout ratio of -1.1% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the bank industry average of 2.67%. First Northwest Bancorp's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. First Northwest Bancorp's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

First Northwest Bancorp's dividend payout ratio of 12.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) has an annual dividend yield of 8.89%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.67%. 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.

Bank stocks were up 1.56% in the last day, and down -0.42% over the last week.

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

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 71, which is 25 points higher than the bank industry average of 46. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 18.26% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -3 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 71, which is 25 points higher than the bank industry average of 46. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Woori Financial Group's stock has gained 49.33% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the bank industry by 28 percentage points.

Pcb Bancorp (NASDAQ:PCB) 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.

Pcb Bancorp has a valuation score of 43, which is -3 points higher than the bank industry average of 46. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates PCB a Valuation Rating of "A".

Pcb Bancorp's stock has gained 28.04% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the bank industry by 6 percentage points.

36.74% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 11.32% over the next year.

0% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 7.3% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 80.29% are rated C (Hold), 11.68% are rated D (Sell), and 0.73% are rated F (Strong Sell).