Sectors & IndustriesConsumer CyclicalDepartment Stores

Best Department Store Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top department store stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best department store 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 department store stocks to buy right now are:

Macy's (NYSE:M) is the #1 top department store stock out of 3 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 Macy's (NYSE:M) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Macy's (NYSE:M) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 16 points higher than the department store industry average of 23.

M passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Macy's has seen its stock return 31.19% over the past year, overperforming other department store stocks by 12 percentage points.

Macy's has an average 1 year price target of $23.00, an upside of 1.46% from Macy's's current stock price of $22.67.

Macy's stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Macy's, 12.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 75% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 12.5% have issued a Strong Sell.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) is the #2 top department store stock out of 3 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Kohls (NYSE:KSS) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: F, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) has a Due Diligence Score of 31, which is 8 points higher than the department store industry average of 23.

KSS passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Kohls has seen its stock return 33.27% over the past year, overperforming other department store stocks by 14 percentage points.

Kohls has an average 1 year price target of $17.33, a downside of -14.83% from Kohls's current stock price of $20.35.

Kohls stock has a consensus Sell recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Kohls, 14.29% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 42.86% have issued a hold, while 14.29% have issued a Sell rating, and 28.57% have issued a Strong Sell.

Polibeli Group (NASDAQ:PLBL) is the #3 top department store stock out of 3 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Polibeli Group (NASDAQ:PLBL) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: C.

Polibeli Group (NASDAQ:PLBL) has a Due Diligence Score of 0, which is -23 points lower than the department store industry average of 23.

PLBL passed 0 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Polibeli Group has seen its stock lose -31.22% over the past year, underperforming other department store stocks by -51 percentage points.

Out of 2 department store stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 2 department store stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Macy's (NYSE:M) has an annual dividend yield of 3.34%, which is the same as the department store industry average of 3.55%. Macy's's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Macy's's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Macy's's dividend payout ratio of 26.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) has an annual dividend yield of 2.46%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the department store industry average of 3.55%. Kohls's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Kohls's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Kohls's dividend payout ratio of 20.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Department store stocks were up 0.25% in the last day, and up 3.12% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why department store 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 department store stocks right now are:

Macy's (NYSE:M) is the most undervalued department store stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Macy's has a valuation score of 43, which is 14 points higher than the department store industry average of 29. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Macy's's stock has gained 31.19% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the department store industry by 12 percentage points.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) is the second most undervalued department store stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Kohls has a valuation score of 43, which is 14 points higher than the department store industry average of 29. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Kohls's stock has gained 33.27% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the department store industry by 14 percentage points.

Polibeli Group (NASDAQ:PLBL) is the third most undervalued department store stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Polibeli Group has a valuation score of 0, which is -29 points higher than the department store industry average of 29. It passed 0 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Polibeli Group's stock has dropped -31.22% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the department store industry by -51 percentage points.

50% of department store stocks rated by analysts are a hold right now. On average, analysts expect department store stocks to fall by -6.25% over the next year.

0% of department store stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 33.33% of department store stocks are rated B (Buy), 66.67% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).