Sectors & IndustriesIndustrialsMetal Fabrication
Best Metal Fabrication Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top metal fabrication stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best metal fabrication stocks to buy now. Learn More.

Industry: Metal Fabrication
A
Metal Fabrication is Zen Rated A and is the 23rd ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries
Learn how the Zen Ratings work
Ticker
Company
Zen Rating
Value
Growth
Momentum
Sentiment
Safety
Financials
AI
1w Zen Rating
1m Zen Rating
3m Zen Rating
1y Zen Rating
TG
TREDEGAR CORP
ABBCCCBBAAAC
NWPX
NWPX INFRASTRUCTURE INC
ACBBABBCACBC
PRLB
PROTO LABS INC
ACBBABBCAAAB
MLI
MUELLER INDUSTRIES INC
ACCBBCACBCCB
CRS
CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORP
BCBBCBABBBBC

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Use the proven Zen Ratings quant model to find stocks with high potential to beat the market. Stocks Zen-Rated "A" have beaten the market by +32.52% annually. Learn More

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Metal Fabrication Stocks FAQ

What are the best metal fabrication stocks to buy right now in May 2026?

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 metal fabrication stocks to buy right now are:

1. Tredegar (NYSE:TG)


Tredegar (NYSE:TG) is the #1 top metal fabrication stock out of 18 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 Tredegar (NYSE:TG) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Tredegar (NYSE:TG) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is equal to the metal fabrication industry average of 30.

TG passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Tredegar has seen its stock lose -4.32% over the past year, overperforming other metal fabrication stocks by 68 percentage points.

2. Nwpx Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX)


Nwpx Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) is the #2 top metal fabrication stock out of 18 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 Nwpx Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Nwpx Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 10 points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 30.

NWPX passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Nwpx Infrastructure has seen its stock return 173.72% over the past year, overperforming other metal fabrication stocks by 246 percentage points.

Nwpx Infrastructure has an average 1 year price target of $90.00, a downside of -18.77% from Nwpx Infrastructure's current stock price of $110.80.

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

3. Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB)


Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) is the #3 top metal fabrication stock out of 18 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 Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 14 points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 30.

PRLB passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Proto Labs has seen its stock return 77.15% over the past year, overperforming other metal fabrication stocks by 149 percentage points.

What are the metal fabrication stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 7 metal fabrication stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 metal fabrication stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN)


Insteel Industries (NYSE:IIIN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.36%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 1.38%. Insteel Industries's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eight times in the last 10 years. Insteel Industries's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Insteel Industries's dividend payout ratio of 51.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

2. Ryerson Holding (NYSE:RYZ)


Ryerson Holding (NYSE:RYZ) has an annual dividend yield of 2.97%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 1.38%. Ryerson Holding's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Ryerson Holding's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Ryerson Holding's dividend payout ratio of -51.3% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

3. Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR)


Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR) has an annual dividend yield of 1.07%, which is the same as the metal fabrication industry average of 1.38%. Worthington Enterprises's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Worthington Enterprises's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Worthington Enterprises's dividend payout ratio of 32.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are metal fabrication stocks down?

Metal fabrication stocks were down -3.58% in the last day, and down -4.15% over the last week. Ati was the among the top losers in the metal fabrication industry, dropping -5.14% yesterday.

Shares of aerospace and defense companies are trading lower as the sector pulls back from recent strength related to the anticipated SpaceX IPO. Weakness may be due to rising bond yields and inflation concerns that may result in continued elevated interest rates.

What are the most undervalued metal fabrication stocks?

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 metal fabrication stocks right now are:

1. Esab (NYSE:ESAB)


Esab (NYSE:ESAB) is the most undervalued metal fabrication stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Esab has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Esab's stock has dropped -30.93% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the metal fabrication industry by 41 percentage points.

2. Tredegar (NYSE:TG)


Tredegar (NYSE:TG) is the second most undervalued metal fabrication stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Tredegar has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Tredegar's stock has dropped -4.32% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the metal fabrication industry by 68 percentage points.

3. Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR)


Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR) is the third most undervalued metal fabrication stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Worthington Enterprises has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the metal fabrication industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Worthington Enterprises's stock has dropped -9.83% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the metal fabrication industry by 62 percentage points.

Are metal fabrication stocks a good buy now?

77.78% of metal fabrication stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect metal fabrication stocks to rise by 11.51% over the next year.

28.57% of metal fabrication stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 7.14% of metal fabrication stocks are rated B (Buy), 42.86% are rated C (Hold), 21.43% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the metal fabrication industry?

The average P/E ratio of the metal fabrication industry is 33.61x.
WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.