Best UK Stocks: October 2026
Quality 95: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Value 85: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 45: estimates revised up but EPS deteriorating.
October 2026 edition · data as of ·11 new, 11 out, biggest climb AAIF.L since September·Next edition forms ·How we score stocks·How past rankings did·All United Kingdom stocks, refreshed daily
Top 25 UK Stocks by StockRank
- New in October 2026: Hansa Investment Company Limited HAN.L, Henderson Far East Income Limited HFEL.L, Galliford Try Holdings plc GFRD.L, Capital Limited CAPD.L, Ricoh Company, Ltd. RICO.L, The Beauty Tech Group plc TBTG.L, Dar Global PLC DAR.L, Kainos Group plc KNOS.L, 4imprint Group plc FOUR.L, FW Thorpe Plc TFW.L, IP Group Plc IPO.L
- Dropped out: Serabi Gold plc SRB.L, Hansa Investment Company Limited HANA.L, Resolute Mining Limited RSG.L, PayPoint plc PAY.L, Luceco plc LUCE.L, International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. IAG.L, Jet2 plc JET2.L, Beximco Pharmaceuticals PLC. BXP.L, B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC BPM.L, Seplat Energy Plc SEPL.L, Stelrad Group PLC SRAD.L
- Biggest climbs: Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited AAIF.L #11 to #2, M.P. Evans Group PLC MPE.L #13 to #8, Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited FEML.L #14 to #10
- Biggest falls: Yü Group PLC YU.L #2 to #15, Hargreaves Services Plc HSP.L #5 to #13, Keller Group plc KLR.L #12 to #17
What changed since September: 11 new, 11 out
- New in October 2026: Hansa Investment Company Limited HAN.L, Henderson Far East Income Limited HFEL.L, Galliford Try Holdings plc GFRD.L, Capital Limited CAPD.L, Ricoh Company, Ltd. RICO.L, The Beauty Tech Group plc TBTG.L, Dar Global PLC DAR.L, Kainos Group plc KNOS.L, 4imprint Group plc FOUR.L, FW Thorpe Plc TFW.L, IP Group Plc IPO.L
- Dropped out: Serabi Gold plc SRB.L, Hansa Investment Company Limited HANA.L, Resolute Mining Limited RSG.L, PayPoint plc PAY.L, Luceco plc LUCE.L, International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. IAG.L, Jet2 plc JET2.L, Beximco Pharmaceuticals PLC. BXP.L, B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC BPM.L, Seplat Energy Plc SEPL.L, Stelrad Group PLC SRAD.L
- Biggest climbs: Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited AAIF.L #11 to #2, M.P. Evans Group PLC MPE.L #13 to #8, Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited FEML.L #14 to #10
- Biggest falls: Yü Group PLC YU.L #2 to #15, Hargreaves Services Plc HSP.L #5 to #13, Keller Group plc KLR.L #12 to #17
| # | Stock | Yield | P/E | Score | Q | V | M | Style · Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yield 4.9% | P/E 3.1 | 100 Score | 95 Q | 85 V | 45 M | Unloved QualityDeep dive → | ||
| 2 | Quality 83: wide operating margins and high return on equity. Momentum 76: quarterly earnings growing and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 60: cheap on P/E and a high yield. | Yield 5.9% | P/E 2.5 | 99 Score | 83 Q | 60 V | 76 M | Full HouseDir. buy | |
| 3 | Momentum 83: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Quality 81: high gross profitability and strong free cash flow. Value 53: mixed. | Yield 2.6% | P/E 18.4 | 99 Score | 81 Q | 53 V | 83 M | Full House | |
| 4 | Quality 84: wide operating margins and low debt. Momentum 75: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 57: cheap on P/E but little or no yield. | Yield 0.6% | P/E 3.6 | 99 Score | 84 Q | 57 V | 75 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 5 | Quality 85: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and strong free cash flow. Momentum 71: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Value 60: a high yield and cheap on EV/EBITDA. | Yield 4.8% | P/E 12.7 | 99 Score | 85 Q | 60 V | 71 M | Full House | |
| 6 | Quality 85: F-Score 9/9 and wide operating margins. Momentum 79: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 52: expensive on sales. | Yield 1.0% | P/E 16.8 | 99 Score | 85 Q | 52 V | 79 M | Full House | |
| 7 | Momentum 78: quarterly earnings growing and near its 52-week high. Quality 75: wide operating margins and strong free cash flow. Value 61: cheap on P/E and a high yield. | Yield 9.4% | P/E 3.7 | 98 Score | 75 Q | 61 V | 78 M | Full House | |
| 8 | Quality 82: low debt and wide operating margins. Momentum 78: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 51: expensive on sales. | Yield 2.7% | P/E 12.5 | 98 Score | 82 Q | 51 V | 78 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 9 | Momentum 81: estimates revised up and near its 52-week high. Quality 68: F-Score 9/9 and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 63: cheap on sales and cheap on EV/EBITDA. | Yield 2.9% | P/E 17.1 | 98 Score | 68 Q | 63 V | 81 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 10 | Quality 89: wide operating margins and high return on equity. Momentum 72: outperforming the market over 6 months and near its 52-week high. Value 51: cheap on P/E but little or no yield. | Yield 1.4% | P/E 3.9 | 98 Score | 89 Q | 51 V | 72 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
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| 11 | Quality 86: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 76: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Momentum 49: estimates revised up but EPS deteriorating. | Yield 2.3% | P/E 7.0 | 98 Score | 86 Q | 76 V | 49 M | Unloved QualityDir. buy | |
| 12 | Value 82: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Quality 73: ROIC in the top 10% of its sector and high return on equity. Momentum 54: estimates revised up but EPS deteriorating. | Yield 1.7% | P/E 4.3 | 98 Score | 73 Q | 82 V | 54 M | Full House | |
| 13 | Value 80: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Quality 66: strong free cash flow and high return on equity. Momentum 63: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. | Yield 4.4% | P/E 9.3 | 98 Score | 66 Q | 80 V | 63 M | Full House | |
| 14 | Momentum 90: near its 52-week high and quarterly earnings growing. Value 67: cheap on sales and below book value. Quality 53: high gross profitability. | Yield 2.5% | P/E 17.0 | 98 Score | 53 Q | 67 V | 90 M | Full House | |
| 15 | Quality 83: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Value 70: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on sales. Momentum 56: estimates revised up but estimates cut. | Yield 3.8% | P/E 8.9 | 98 Score | 83 Q | 70 V | 56 M | Full House | |
| 16 | Momentum 91: outperforming the market over 6 months and near its 52-week high. Quality 83: F-Score 9/9 and strong free cash flow. Value 32: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 21.2 | 97 Score | 83 Q | 32 V | 91 M | Premium Grower | |
| 17 | Momentum 71: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 71: F-Score 8/9 and high return on equity. Value 64: cheap on sales and cheap on EV/EBITDA. | Yield 2.6% | P/E 14.2 | 97 Score | 71 Q | 64 V | 71 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 18 | Quality 80: strong free cash flow and high return on equity. Momentum 66: quarterly earnings growing. Value 60: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on free cash flow. | Yield — | P/E 12.6 | 97 Score | 80 Q | 60 V | 66 M | Full House | |
| 19 | Quality 82: high gross profitability and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 82: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 42: far above book value. | Yield 2.4% | P/E 35.0 | 97 Score | 82 Q | 42 V | 82 M | Premium GrowerBuyback | |
| 20 | Quality 87: high gross profitability and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 76: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 41: far above book value. | Yield 5.5% | P/E 14.2 | 96 Score | 87 Q | 41 V | 76 M | Premium GrowerDir. buyBuyback | |
| 21 | Quality 89: high gross profitability and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 70: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 44: far above book value. | Yield 4.1% | P/E 16.3 | 96 Score | 89 Q | 44 V | 70 M | Premium Grower | |
| 22 | Quality 76: interest well covered and a liquid balance sheet. Value 69: cheap on EV/EBITDA and a high yield. Momentum 59: mixed. | Yield 3.8% | P/E 11.8 | 96 Score | 76 Q | 69 V | 59 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 23 | Quality 80: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and strong free cash flow. Momentum 65: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Value 58: cheap on free cash flow. | Yield 1.7% | P/E 16.9 | 96 Score | 80 Q | 58 V | 65 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 24 | Quality 77: wide operating margins and a liquid balance sheet. Value 71: cheap on P/E and below book value; P/FCF excluded. Momentum 55: outperforming the market over 6 months but estimates cut. | Yield — | P/E 4.7 | 96 Score | 77 Q | 71 V | 55 M | Full House | |
| 25 | Value 75: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Quality 67: wide operating margins and F-Score 7/9. Momentum 61: quarterly earnings growing and near its 52-week high. | Yield 2.4% | P/E 4.4 | 96 Score | 67 Q | 75 V | 61 M | Full House | |
Ranked by StockRank (Quality + Value + Momentum composite) at a minimum market cap of $250M. Yield and P/E are as of the data date; click a ticker for today’s price and score. A new edition is generated on the first scoring run of each month.
Director buying reported in the 90 days to : Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited AAIF.L, Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc CMCL.L, Polar Capital Holdings Plc POLR.L
Active share buybacks in the 180 days to : Hansa Investment Company Limited HAN.L, M.P. Evans Group PLC MPE.L, Galliford Try Holdings plc GFRD.L, Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited FEML.L, Keller Group plc KLR.L, Kainos Group plc KNOS.L and 3 more
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How United Kingdom scores
Where the top 25 come from, and how the whole UK market sits against the global universe. StockRank is a global percentile, so the universe splits evenly into five bands by construction; a market that piles up on the right is scoring well as a whole.
Top 25 by sector
- Industrials8
- Financial Services6
- Basic Materials5
- Consumer Defensive2
- Communication Services1
- Real Estate1
- Other2
Share of UK stocks by StockRank band
- 0-1920% / 20%
- 20-3917% / 20%
- 40-5920% / 20%
- 60-7921% / 20%
- 80-10022% / 20%
United Kingdomall markets
The London Discount Is a Feature, Not a Verdict
London has spent a decade being written off (outflows, delistings, take-privates), and the result is a market trading at a persistent discount to both its own history and its US-listed peers. The exodus is the setup. MoatMap scores every LSE and AIM name it covers to find the businesses whose cash flows never justified the pessimism.
MoatMap scored 1,074 UK stocks on 2026-10-01; 641 cleared the $250M market-cap floor this list applies. The market's average StockRank is 52. Financial Services is the most represented sector in the top 10 (4 names).
The FTSE's cheapness is structural, not cyclical: UK pension funds spent two decades rotating out of domestic equities, index composition skews to old-economy sectors, and the post-2016 political discount never fully unwound. But cheapness has consequences. The UK became the developed world's most active market for take-privates and inbound acquisitions, with private equity and US corporates repeatedly paying 30-50% premiums for listed UK businesses. When public markets misprice, buyers arrive privately.
The market splits in two. The FTSE 100 is a global-earner index (energy, miners, pharma, banks) that happens to list in London: a play on world cash flows at UK multiples, with dividend yields amongst the highest in developed markets. The mid-cap and AIM tail is where screening does its best work: thinner coverage, genuine growth franchises, and the country's most aggressive buyback programmes, many filing daily repurchase notices MoatMap tracks.
One mechanical note: UK shares quote in pence (GBp) while financials report in pounds, a recurring source of hundred-fold errors in casual analysis. MoatMap normalises this in scoring, but it's worth knowing when you check numbers against other sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the top-ranked UK stocks right now?
- The table above ranks MoatMap's top 25 LSE/AIM-listed stocks by StockRank, a composite of Quality, Value and Momentum percentiles. It refreshes monthly with a stated data date, and each ticker links to a full breakdown including RNS insider and buyback filings.
- Why are UK stocks so cheap compared to the US?
- Structural outflows (pension de-equitisation), sector mix (little listed tech), and a sentiment discount dating from 2016. The evidence that it's an over-discount rather than a fair one is the takeover tape: acquirers keep paying large premiums to buy UK-listed companies outright, which is what happens when private valuations exceed public ones.
- Are UK dividends worth it?
- The FTSE's dividend yield is persistently among the highest in developed markets, and the UK levies no withholding tax on dividends paid to foreign shareholders, an underappreciated structural edge over most of Europe. Shareholder yield (dividends plus buybacks) is even stronger, as UK plcs have become heavy repurchasers of their own discounted shares.
- What about AIM stocks? Too risky?
- AIM is a barbell: it hosts both genuine growth franchises and speculative shells. A factor screen with a market-cap floor keeps the shells out while catching established AIM businesses that fell below institutional radar. Liquidity is thinner than the main market, so treat the smaller names as patient positions.
- How often does this UK ranking refresh?
- A new edition forms on the first scoring run of each calendar month and the page states its data-as-of date. For a daily view, use the ranked-stocks screener filtered to the United Kingdom.