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:

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) is the #1 top bank stock out of 311 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

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

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) has a Due Diligence Score of 12, which is -25 points lower than the bank industry average of 37. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates BMA as a "A".

BMA passed 4 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Macro Bank has seen its stock return 34.75% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 16 percentage points.

Macro Bank has an average 1 year price target of $105.00, an upside of 14.59% from Macro Bank's current stock price of $91.63.

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.

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) is the #2 top bank stock out of 311 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: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR) has a Due Diligence Score of 55, which is 18 points higher than the bank industry average of 37.

ISTR passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Investar Holding has seen its stock return 30.83% 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 7.44% from Investar Holding's current stock price of $29.32.

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.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) is the #3 top bank stock out of 311 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 Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is -4 points lower than the bank industry average of 37. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CARE as a "B".

CARE passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Carter Bankshares has seen its stock return 90.34% over the past year, overperforming other bank stocks by 72 percentage points.

Carter Bankshares has an average 1 year price target of $28.50, a downside of -15.93% from Carter Bankshares's current stock price of $33.90.

Carter Bankshares stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Carter Bankshares, 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 263 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 8.22%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.52%. 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 6.87%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.52%. Itau Unibanco Holding Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% forty-one 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.

Hdfc Bank (NYSE:HDB) has an annual dividend yield of 6.58%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the bank industry average of 2.52%. Hdfc Bank's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Hdfc Bank's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Hdfc Bank's dividend payout ratio of 22.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Bank stocks were up 0.52% in the last day, and down -2.23% over the last week. First Citizens Bancshares was the among the top gainers in the banks - regional industry, gaining 6.51% yesterday.

First Citizens BancShares shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results.

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 35 points higher than the bank industry average of 36. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 7.41% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -11 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 35 points higher than the bank industry average of 36. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Woori Financial Group's stock has gained 12.95% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -6 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 71, which is 35 points higher than the bank industry average of 36. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Newtekone's stock has gained 18.15% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the bank industry by -1 percentage points.

36.65% of bank stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect bank stocks to rise by 5.32% over the next year.

0.36% of bank stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 9.68% of bank stocks are rated B (Buy), 77.42% are rated C (Hold), 12.19% are rated D (Sell), and 0.36% are rated F (Strong Sell).