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:

Crawford & Co (NYSE:CRD.A) is the #1 top financial stock out of 714 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 Crawford & Co (NYSE:CRD.A) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Crawford & Co (NYSE:CRD.A) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 5 points higher than the financial sector average of 35. It passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Crawford & Co has seen its stock return 32.1% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 19 percentage points.

Crawford & Co has an average 1 year price target of $14.00, an upside of 11.91% from Crawford & Co's current stock price of $12.51.

Crawford & Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Crawford & Co, 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.

Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) is the #2 top financial stock out of 714 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: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Atlanticus Holdings (NASDAQ:ATLC) has a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 18 points higher than the financial sector average of 35. It passed 18 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Atlanticus Holdings has seen its stock return 125.46% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 113 percentage points.

Atlanticus Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $123.50, an upside of 11.95% from Atlanticus Holdings's current stock price of $110.32.

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.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) is the #3 top financial stock out of 714 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: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 4 points higher than the financial sector average of 35. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Mercury General has seen its stock return 48.7% over the past year, overperforming other financial stocks by 36 percentage points.

Out of 506 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 54.05%, which is 50 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.89%.

Reliance Global Group's dividend payout ratio of -15.3% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Cohen & Co (NYSEMKT:COHN) has an annual dividend yield of 29.55%, which is 26 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.89%. 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 38.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Oxford Square Capital (NASDAQ:OXSQ) has an annual dividend yield of 28%, which is 24 percentage points higher than the financial sector average of 3.89%. Oxford Square Capital's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% four times in the last 10 years. Oxford Square Capital's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Oxford Square Capital's dividend payout ratio of -97.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Financial stocks were up 0.64% in the last day, and up 0.15% over the last week. Ethos Technologies was the among the top gainers in the financial services sector, gaining 21.11% yesterday.

Ethos Technologies shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results and raised its FY26 sales guidance above estimates. Also, the company issued Q3 sales guidance above estimates.

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:

Lendingtree (NASDAQ:TREE) 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.

Lendingtree has a valuation score of 43, which is 10 points higher than the financial sector average of 33. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Lendingtree's stock has dropped -36.41% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -49 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 38 points higher than the financial sector average of 33. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qfin Holdings's stock has dropped -59.25% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the financial sector by -72 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 38 points higher than the financial sector average of 33. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Op Bancorp's stock has gained 23.41% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the financial sector by 11 percentage points.

35.38% of financial stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect financial stocks to rise by 10.07% over the next year.

1.95% of financial stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 9.76% of financial stocks are rated B (Buy), 72.36% are rated C (Hold), 12.36% are rated D (Sell), and 3.58% are rated F (Strong Sell).