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 +32.52% 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 57 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 Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 5 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 31.

ALTO passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 510.7% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 498 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 75.13% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.71.

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.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) is the #2 top specialty chemical stock out of 57 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 Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) has a Due Diligence Score of 22, which is -9 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ECVT as a "A".

ECVT passed 7 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ecovyst has seen its stock return 75.37% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 63 percentage points.

Ecovyst has an average 1 year price target of $15.33, an upside of 17.67% from Ecovyst's current stock price of $13.03.

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.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is the #3 top specialty chemical stock out of 57 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 Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is -1 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates KOP as a "A".

KOP passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Koppers Holdings has seen its stock return 34.74% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 22 percentage points.

Koppers Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $55.00, an upside of 33.53% from Koppers Holdings's current stock price of $41.19.

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.

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 6.14%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.99%. 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 -192% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Futurefuel (NYSE:FF) has an annual dividend yield of 5.74%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.99%. Futurefuel's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Futurefuel's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Futurefuel's dividend payout ratio of -20% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has an annual dividend yield of 5.06%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.99%. 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 down -0.33% in the last day, and down -0.9% over the last week. J Star Holding Co was the among the top losers in the specialty chemicals industry, dropping -27.74% yesterday.

Shares of companies in the broader consumer discretionary sector are trading lower amid a spike in energy prices and higher Treasury yields, which may fuel concerns about inflation, increased borrowing costs, and pressure on consumer spending power.

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 39 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 18. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Mativ Holdings's stock has gained 28.2% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 16 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 29, which is 11 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 18. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Koppers Holdings's stock has gained 34.74% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 22 percentage points.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) 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.

Avient has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Avient's stock has dropped -3.46% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -16 percentage points.

52.38% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 13.59% over the next year.

12.24% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.45% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 51.02% are rated C (Hold), 10.2% are rated D (Sell), and 4.08% are rated F (Strong Sell).