Sectors & IndustriesBasic MaterialsSpecialty Chemicals

Best Specialty Chemical Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top specialty chemical stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best specialty chemical stocks to buy now. Learn More.

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 specialty chemical stocks to buy right now are:

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) is the #1 top specialty chemical stock out of 58 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 Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 12 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 32.

ALTO passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 413.59% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 400 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 89.04% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.29.

Alto Ingredients stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Alto Ingredients, 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.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is the #2 top specialty chemical stock out of 58 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 Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) has a Due Diligence Score of 35, which is 3 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 32.

KOP passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Koppers Holdings has seen its stock return 63.23% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 50 percentage points.

Koppers Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $55.00, an upside of 5.79% from Koppers Holdings's current stock price of $51.99.

Koppers Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Koppers Holdings, 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.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) is the #3 top specialty chemical stock out of 58 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 Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) has a Due Diligence Score of 25, which is -7 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ECVT as a "A".

ECVT passed 8 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ecovyst has seen its stock return 46.26% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 33 percentage points.

Ecovyst has an average 1 year price target of $14.83, an upside of 22.49% from Ecovyst's current stock price of $12.11.

Ecovyst stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Ecovyst, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 37 specialty chemical stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 specialty chemical stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv (NYSE:LYB) has an annual dividend yield of 6.74%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.93%. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout ratio of -364.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE:EMN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.53%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.93%. Eastman Chemical Co's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Eastman Chemical Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Eastman Chemical Co's dividend payout ratio of 86.6% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has an annual dividend yield of 4.35%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.93%. Mativ Holdings's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Mativ Holdings's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Mativ Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 28.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Specialty chemical stocks were up 2.18% in the last day, and up 3.43% over the last week. Westlake was the among the top gainers in the specialty chemicals industry, gaining 15.37% yesterday.

Westlake 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 specialty chemical stocks right now are:

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is the most undervalued specialty chemical stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Mativ Holdings has a valuation score of 57, which is 35 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Mativ Holdings's stock has gained 44.43% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 31 percentage points.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is the second most undervalued specialty chemical stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Koppers Holdings has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Koppers Holdings's stock has gained 63.23% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 50 percentage points.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) is the third most undervalued specialty chemical stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Cabot has a valuation score of 29, which is 7 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has gained 11.19% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -2 percentage points.

48.78% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 18.59% over the next year.

7.84% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 31.37% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 45.1% are rated C (Hold), 9.8% are rated D (Sell), and 5.88% are rated F (Strong Sell).