Sectors & IndustriesFinancial Services

Best Financial Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top financial stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best financial stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the financial services sector.

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 financial service stocks to buy right now are:

Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE:OPY) is the #1 top financial stock out of 715 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 Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE:OPY) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE:OPY) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is -2 points lower than the financial sector average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates OPY as a "A".It passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Oppenheimer Holdings has seen its stock return 78.02% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 68 percentage points.

Oppfi (NYSE:OPFI) is the #2 top financial stock out of 715 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 Oppfi (NYSE:OPFI) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Oppfi (NYSE:OPFI) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 4 points higher than the financial sector average of 36. It passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Oppfi has seen its stock lose -0.94% over the past year, underperforming other financial stocks by -11 percentage points.

Oppfi has an average 1 year price target of $15.00, an upside of 57.73% from Oppfi's current stock price of $9.51.

Oppfi stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Oppfi, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cohen & Co (NYSEMKT:COHN) is the #3 top financial stock out of 715 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 Cohen & Co (NYSEMKT:COHN) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Cohen & Co (NYSEMKT:COHN) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is equal to the financial sector average of 36. It passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Cohen & Co has seen its stock return 111.97% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 102 percentage points.

Out of 503 financial stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 financial stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Atlantic American (NASDAQ:AAME) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the financial sector average of 3.85%. Atlantic American's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Atlantic American's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Atlantic American's dividend payout ratio of 9.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Oppfi (NYSE:OPFI) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the financial sector average of 3.85%.

Oppfi's dividend payout ratio of 25.3% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) has an annual dividend yield of 28.91%, which is 25 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.85%. Horizon Technology Finance's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Horizon Technology Finance's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Horizon Technology Finance's dividend payout ratio of -2,200% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Financial stocks were down -0.44% in the last day, and down -0.54% over the last week. Bayfirst Financial was the among the top losers in the financial services sector, dropping -23.53% yesterday.

BayFirst Financial shares are trading lower after the company reported a year-over-year decrease in Q1 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 financial stocks right now are:

Newtekone (NASDAQ:NEWT) is the most undervalued financial 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 57, which is 18 points higher than the financial sector average of 39. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Newtekone's stock has gained 24.6% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the financial sector by 14 percentage points.

Qfin Holdings (NASDAQ:QFIN) is the second most undervalued financial stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Qfin Holdings has a valuation score of 71, which is 32 points higher than the financial sector average of 39. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qfin Holdings's stock has dropped -66.83% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -77 percentage points.

Lendingtree (NASDAQ:TREE) is the third most undervalued financial stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Lendingtree has a valuation score of 29, which is -10 points higher than the financial sector average of 39. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates TREE a Valuation Rating of "A".

Lendingtree's stock has dropped -28.29% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -39 percentage points.

36.51% of financial stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect financial stocks to rise by 16.49% over the next year.

2.15% of financial stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 6.94% of financial stocks are rated B (Buy), 74.88% are rated C (Hold), 12.56% are rated D (Sell), and 3.47% are rated F (Strong Sell).