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 4 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 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 41, which is 6 points higher than the department store industry average of 35.

M passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Macy's has seen its stock return 26.46% over the past year, overperforming other department store stocks by 16 percentage points.

Macy's has an average 1 year price target of $23.00, an upside of 4.17% from Macy's's current stock price of $22.08.

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 4 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: A, 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 -4 points lower than the department store industry average of 35.

KSS passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Kohls has seen its stock return 6.75% over the past year, underperforming other department store stocks by -4 percentage points.

Kohls has an average 1 year price target of $17.29, an upside of 0.33% from Kohls's current stock price of $17.23.

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.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) is the #3 top department store stock out of 4 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 Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) has a Due Diligence Score of 58, which is 23 points higher than the department store industry average of 35.

DDS passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Dillard's has seen its stock return 11.03% over the past year.

Dillard's has an average 1 year price target of $493.50, a downside of -24.14% from Dillard's's current stock price of $650.57.

Dillard's stock has a consensus Strong Sell recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Dillard's, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 100% have issued a Strong Sell.

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

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) has an annual dividend yield of 4.8%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the department store industry average of 3.42%. Dillard's's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% five times in the last 10 years. Dillard's's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Dillard's's dividend payout ratio of 71.5% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) has an annual dividend yield of 2.9%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the department store industry average of 3.42%. 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.

Macy's (NYSE:M) has an annual dividend yield of 2.56%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the department store industry average of 3.42%. 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.

Department store stocks were up 4.24% in the last day, and down -1.28% 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 26.46% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the department store industry by 16 percentage points.

Kohls (NYSE:KSS) is the second 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.

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 6.75% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the department store industry by -4 percentage points.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) 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.

Dillard's has a valuation score of 29, which is 0 points higher than the department store industry average of 29. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Dillard's's stock has gained 11.03% in the past year. It has performed in line with other stocks in the department store industry.

33.33% of department store stocks rated by analysts are a hold right now. On average, analysts expect department store stocks to fall by -22.63% over the next year.

0% of department store stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of department store stocks are rated B (Buy), 75% are rated C (Hold), 25% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).