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:

Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 16 points higher than the financial sector average of 34. It passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Atlanticus Holdings has seen its stock return 96.27% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 88 percentage points.

Atlanticus Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $123.50, an upside of 19.62% from Atlanticus Holdings's current stock price of $103.24.

Atlanticus Holdings stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Atlanticus Holdings, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 3 points higher than the financial sector average of 34. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Acadian Asset Management has seen its stock return 110.12% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 102 percentage points.

Acadian Asset Management has an average 1 year price target of $72.00, a downside of -13.53% from Acadian Asset Management's current stock price of $83.27.

Acadian Asset Management stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Acadian Asset Management, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 5 points higher than the financial sector average of 34. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Mercury General has seen its stock return 60.27% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 52 percentage points.

Out of 505 financial stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 financial stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Reliance Global Group (NASDAQ:EZRA) has an annual dividend yield of 53.69%, which is 50 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.92%.

Reliance Global Group's dividend payout ratio of -3.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Pennantpark Investment (NYSE:PNNT) has an annual dividend yield of 26.74%, which is 23 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.92%. Pennantpark Investment's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% four times in the last 10 years. Pennantpark Investment's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Pennantpark Investment's dividend payout ratio of 480% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Cohen & Co (NYSEMKT:COHN) has an annual dividend yield of 26.35%, which is 22 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.92%. Cohen & Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Cohen & Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cohen & Co's dividend payout ratio of 41.4% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Financial stocks were up 1.45% in the last day, and up 2.43% over the last week. Citizens Financial Group was the among the top gainers in the financial services sector, gaining 4.61% yesterday.

Citizens Financial Group shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 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:

Qfin Holdings (NASDAQ:QFIN) 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.

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

Qfin Holdings's stock has dropped -68.94% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -77 percentage points.

Lexinfintech Holdings (NASDAQ:LX) 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.

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

Lexinfintech Holdings's stock has dropped -76.79% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -85 percentage points.

Op Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) 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.

Op Bancorp has a valuation score of 71, which is 41 points higher than the financial sector average of 30. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 15.58% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the financial sector by 7 percentage points.

36.17% of financial stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect financial stocks to rise by 9.52% over the next year.

0.81% of financial stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 9.53% of financial stocks are rated B (Buy), 71.08% are rated C (Hold), 15.35% are rated D (Sell), and 3.23% are rated F (Strong Sell).