Sectors & IndustriesConsumer CyclicalRestaurants

Best Restaurant Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

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

El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) is the #1 top restaurant stock out of 53 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 El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 2 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 31.

LOCO passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. El Pollo Loco Holdings has seen its stock return 41.89% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 107 percentage points.

El Pollo Loco Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $15.10, an upside of 12.02% from El Pollo Loco Holdings's current stock price of $13.48.

El Pollo Loco Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering El Pollo Loco Holdings, 60% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 40% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) is the #2 top restaurant stock out of 53 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 Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) has a Due Diligence Score of 28, which is -3 points lower than the restaurant industry average of 31.

BLMN passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Bloomin' Brands has seen its stock lose -6.44% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 59 percentage points.

Bloomin' Brands has an average 1 year price target of $8.67, an upside of 6.47% from Bloomin' Brands's current stock price of $8.14.

Bloomin' Brands stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering Bloomin' Brands, 16.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 66.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 16.67% have issued a Strong Sell.

Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) is the #3 top restaurant stock out of 53 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 Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: D.

Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) has a Due Diligence Score of 7, which is -24 points lower than the restaurant industry average of 31.

NDLS passed 2 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Noodles & Co has seen its stock return 87.88% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 153 percentage points.

Out of 21 restaurant stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 restaurant stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) has an annual dividend yield of 9.16%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.11%.

Chagee Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 14.7% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) has an annual dividend yield of 6.91%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.11%. Wendy's Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Wendy's Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Wendy's Co's dividend payout ratio of 71.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) has an annual dividend yield of 5.62%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.11%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Papa Johns International's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio of 219% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Restaurant stocks were up 0.46% in the last day, and down -4.99% over the last week. Papa Johns International was the among the top gainers in the restaurants industry, gaining 0.06% yesterday.

Papa John's International shares are trading higher following reports suggesting the company's largest franchisee joined Irth in a buyout bid.

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 restaurant stocks right now are:

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) is the most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Jack In The Box has a valuation score of 57, which is 27 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Jack In The Box's stock has dropped -57.23% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 8 percentage points.

Chagee Holdings (NASDAQ:CHA) is the second most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Chagee Holdings has a valuation score of 71, which is 41 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Chagee Holdings's stock has dropped -65.31% in the past year. It has performed in line with other stocks in the restaurant industry.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) is the third most undervalued restaurant stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Brinker International has a valuation score of 43, which is 13 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Brinker International's stock has dropped -9.42% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by 56 percentage points.

37.5% of restaurant stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect restaurant stocks to rise by 29.38% over the next year.

0% of restaurant stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 2.7% of restaurant stocks are rated B (Buy), 67.57% are rated C (Hold), 18.92% are rated D (Sell), and 10.81% are rated F (Strong Sell).