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.

Industry: Banks - Regional
D
Banks is Zen Rated D and is the 94th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries
Learn how the Zen Ratings work
Ticker
Company
Zen Rating
Sentiment
Market Cap
Shares
Institutional %
Insider %
Net Insider (L12M)
Net Insider (L3M)
UBFO
UNITED SECURITY BANCSHARES
$187.01M17,575,85332.61%67.39%Net BuyingNet Buying
WBS
WEBSTER FINANCIAL CORP
$11.30B161,226,58590.03%5.07%Net SellingNet Selling
MBWM
MERCANTILE BANK CORP
$909.94M17,272,96161.85%22.64%Net SellingNet Selling
RBKB
RHINEBECK BANCORP INC
$183.23M11,145,68119.50%4.19%Net Buying
HFBL
HOME FEDERAL BANCORP INC OF LOUISIANA
$59.16M3,074,6377.14%47.33%Net BuyingNet Buying
FFIC
FLUSHING FINANCIAL CORP
$533.70M33,778,43872.94%13.24%Net SellingNet Selling
AVAL
GRUPO AVAL ACCIONES Y VALORES SA
$5.00B23,743,017,3640.02%0.00%
BBD
BANK BRADESCO
$41.43B10,596,982,92811.94%0.00%
AFBI
AFFINITY BANCSHARES INC
$122.74M6,167,60223.57%23.42%Net Selling
RMBI
RICHMOND MUTUAL BANCORPORATION INC
$146.40M10,450,00722.14%9.02%Net BuyingNet Buying
STEL
STELLAR BANCORP INC
$1.90B50,772,21662.42%26.47%Net SellingNet Selling
LARK
LANDMARK BANCORP INC
$171.46M6,080,10829.51%24.22%Net SellingNet Selling
ASRV
AMERISERV FINANCIAL INC
$63.61M16,522,26740.43%33.93%Net BuyingNet Buying
SFBC
SOUND FINANCIAL BANCORP INC
$109.62M2,566,06942.72%28.41%Net Buying
CIB
BANCOLOMBIA SA
$16.12B961,827,0002.46%0.00%
CMTV
COMMUNITY BANCORP
N/A5,604,6120.00%23.38%Net BuyingNet Buying
CBFV
CB FINANCIAL SERVICES INC
$177.39M5,010,88344.87%18.09%Net BuyingNet Buying
TCBS
TEXAS COMMUNITY BANCSHARES INC
$48.53M2,914,74311.57%25.41%Net Selling

Bank Stocks FAQ

What are the best bank stocks to buy right now in Mar 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 bank stocks to buy right now are:

1. Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF)


Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF) is the #1 top bank stock out of 318 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 Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF) has a Due Diligence Score of 16, which is -22 points lower than the bank industry average of 38. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates WF as a "A".

WF passed 6 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Woori Financial Group has seen its stock return 114.85% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 100 percentage points.

2. Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR)


Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) is the #2 top bank stock out of 318 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 Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Banco Santander Sa (NYSE:BSBR) has a Due Diligence Score of 6, which is -32 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 "B".

BSBR passed 2 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Banco Santander Sa has seen its stock return 44.42% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 29 percentage points.

3. Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL)


Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) is the #3 top bank stock out of 318 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: B.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 11 points higher than the bank industry average of 38.

NWFL passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Norwood Financial has seen its stock return 17.19% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 2 percentage points.

Norwood Financial has an average 1 year price target of $33.00, an upside of 10.52% from Norwood Financial's current stock price of $29.86.

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.

What are the bank stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 254 bank stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 bank stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Tfs Financial (NASDAQ:TFSL)


Tfs Financial (NASDAQ:TFSL) has an annual dividend yield of 7.94%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.78%. 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.

2. Affinity Bancshares (NASDAQ:AFBI)


Affinity Bancshares (NASDAQ:AFBI) has an annual dividend yield of 7.54%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.78%.

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

3. Bcb Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP)


Bcb Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) has an annual dividend yield of 6.68%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.78%. Bcb Bancorp's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Bcb Bancorp's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Bcb Bancorp's dividend payout ratio of 800% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are bank stocks up?

Bank stocks were up 0.48% in the last day, and down -2.69% over the last week.

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

What are the most undervalued bank 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 bank stocks right now are:

1. Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT)


Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT) 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.

Newtekone has a valuation score of 57, which is 6 points higher than the bank industry average of 51. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Newtekone's stock has gained 0.55% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -14 percentage points.

2. Woori Financial Group (NYSE:WF)


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 43, which is -8 points higher than the bank industry average of 51. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates WF a Valuation Rating of "A".

Woori Financial Group's stock has gained 114.85% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the bank industry by 100 percentage points.

3. Sb Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG)


Sb Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) 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.

Sb Financial Group has a valuation score of 100, which is 49 points higher than the bank industry average of 51. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sb Financial Group's stock has gained 0.93% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -14 percentage points.

Are bank stocks a good buy now?

37.38% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 11.69% over the next year.

0.37% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 7.43% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 77.32% are rated C (Hold), 13.38% are rated D (Sell), and 1.49% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the banks - regional industry?

The average P/E ratio of the banks - regional industry is 15.12x.
WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

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.