Sectors & IndustriesBasic MaterialsSpecialty Chemicals
Best Specialty Chemical Stocks to Buy Now (2025)
Top specialty chemical stocks in 2025 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.

Industry: Specialty Chemicals
C
Specialty Chemicals is Zen Rated C and is the 66th 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
ODC
OIL-DRI CORP OF AMERICA
ABCCCBACAABB
MATV
MATIV HOLDINGS INC
ACBCACCCABBC
NGVT
INGEVITY CORP
ABCCCCACAAAC
HDSN
HUDSON TECHNOLOGIES INC
BCCCBCBCBBAC
SSL
SASOL LTD
BBCCCBCCBAAB

Upgrade to Premium to View More

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

Already have access to Premium? Sign In

Specialty Chemical Stocks FAQ

What are the best specialty chemical stocks to buy right now in Dec 2025?

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:

1. Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC)


Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) 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 Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 20 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 32.

ODC passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Oil Dri Of America has seen its stock return 60.51% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 72 percentage points.

2. Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV)


Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) 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 Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has a Due Diligence Score of 12, which is -20 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MATV as a "A".

MATV passed 4 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Mativ Holdings has seen its stock lose -4.47% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 7 percentage points.

3. Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT)


Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) 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 Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) has a Due Diligence Score of 16, which is -16 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NGVT as a "A".

NGVT passed 5 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ingevity has seen its stock return 7.71% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 19 percentage points.

Ingevity has an average 1 year price target of $61.50, an upside of 17.05% from Ingevity's current stock price of $52.54.

Ingevity stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Ingevity, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the specialty chemical stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 34 specialty chemical stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 specialty chemical stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv (NYSE:LYB)


Lyondellbasell Industries Nv (NYSE:LYB) has an annual dividend yield of 8.86%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.26%. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout ratio of -144.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE:EMN)


Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE:EMN) has an annual dividend yield of 5.39%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.26%. 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 54.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Futurefuel (NYSE:FF)


Futurefuel (NYSE:FF) has an annual dividend yield of 5.25%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.26%. 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 -30.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are specialty chemical stocks up?

Specialty chemical stocks were up 0.29% in the last day, and down -0.4% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why specialty chemical stocks are up.

What are the most undervalued specialty chemical 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 specialty chemical stocks right now are:

1. Cabot (NYSE:CBT)


Cabot (NYSE:CBT) 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.

Cabot has a valuation score of 43, which is 15 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 28. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has dropped -41.65% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -30 percentage points.

2. Avient (NYSE:AVNT)


Avient (NYSE:AVNT) 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.

Avient has a valuation score of 71, which is 43 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 28. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Avient's stock has dropped -39.01% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -28 percentage points.

3. Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE:EMN)


Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE:EMN) 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.

Eastman Chemical Co has a valuation score of 43, which is 15 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 28. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Eastman Chemical Co's stock has dropped -40.19% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -29 percentage points.

Are specialty chemical stocks a good buy now?

42.5% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 20.86% over the next year.

6% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 12% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 68% are rated C (Hold), 4% are rated D (Sell), and 10% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the specialty chemicals industry?

The average P/E ratio of the specialty chemicals industry is -2.65x.
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.