Sectors & IndustriesReal EstateREIT - Retail

Best Retail REIT Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top retail reit stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best retail reit 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 retail reit stocks to buy right now are:

Cbl & Associates Properties (NYSE:CBL) is the #1 top retail reit stock out of 28 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 Cbl & Associates Properties (NYSE:CBL) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Cbl & Associates Properties (NYSE:CBL) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 10 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 28.

CBL passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Cbl & Associates Properties has seen its stock return 26.19% over the past year, overperforming other retail reit stocks by 113 percentage points.

Cbl & Associates Properties has an average 1 year price target of $45.00, an upside of 26.23% from Cbl & Associates Properties's current stock price of $35.65.

Cbl & Associates Properties stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Cbl & Associates Properties, 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.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) is the #2 top retail reit stock out of 28 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is 1 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 28.

SPG passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Simon Property Group has seen its stock return 5.64% over the past year, overperforming other retail reit stocks by 93 percentage points.

Simon Property Group has an average 1 year price target of $188.73, an upside of 2.16% from Simon Property Group's current stock price of $184.73.

Simon Property Group stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Simon Property Group, 18.18% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 81.82% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Whitestone Reit (NYSE:WSR) is the #3 top retail reit stock out of 28 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Whitestone Reit (NYSE:WSR) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Whitestone Reit (NYSE:WSR) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 5 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 28.

WSR passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Whitestone Reit has seen its stock return 5.11% over the past year, overperforming other retail reit stocks by 92 percentage points.

Whitestone Reit has an average 1 year price target of $16.00, an upside of 12.83% from Whitestone Reit's current stock price of $14.18.

Whitestone Reit stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Whitestone Reit, 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.

Out of 25 retail reit stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 retail reit stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) has an annual dividend yield of 7.49%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the retail reit industry average of 4.68%. Saul Centers's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Saul Centers's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio of 203.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Alexanders (NYSE:ALX) has an annual dividend yield of 7.41%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the retail reit industry average of 4.68%. Alexanders's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Alexanders's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Alexanders's dividend payout ratio of 252.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY) has an annual dividend yield of 6.51%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the retail reit industry average of 4.68%. Getty Realty's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Getty Realty's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Getty Realty's dividend payout ratio of 146.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Retail reit stocks were down -0.18% in the last day, and down -0.57% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why retail reit stocks are down.

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 retail reit stocks right now are:

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) is the most undervalued retail reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust has a valuation score of 29, which is -2 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 31. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates WHLR a Valuation Rating of "A".

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust's stock has dropped -99.93% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the retail reit industry by -13 percentage points.

Cbl & Associates Properties (NYSE:CBL) is the second most undervalued retail reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Cbl & Associates Properties has a valuation score of 57, which is 26 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 31. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cbl & Associates Properties's stock has gained 26.19% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the retail reit industry by 113 percentage points.

Nnn Reit (NYSE:NNN) is the third most undervalued retail reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Nnn Reit has a valuation score of 43, which is 12 points higher than the retail reit industry average of 31. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nnn Reit's stock has gained 6.66% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the retail reit industry by 94 percentage points.

45.83% of retail reit stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect retail reit stocks to rise by 8.28% over the next year.

3.7% of retail reit stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of retail reit stocks are rated B (Buy), 66.67% are rated C (Hold), 29.63% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).