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:

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

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 return 33.54% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 27 percentage points.

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

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is -2 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ALTO as a "A".

ALTO passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 316.96% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 311 percentage points.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) 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 Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) has a Due Diligence Score of 19, which is -13 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MTX as a "A".

MTX passed 6 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Minerals Technologies has seen its stock return 9.9% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 4 percentage points.

Minerals Technologies has an average 1 year price target of $82.00, an upside of 18.33% from Minerals Technologies's current stock price of $69.30.

Minerals Technologies stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Minerals Technologies, 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.

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 6.03%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.04%. 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 -232.9% 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 2.04%. 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 -21.2% 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 4.45%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.04%. 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 80.4% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Specialty chemical stocks were down -0.42% in the last day, and up 1.03% over the last week. Axalta Coating Systems was the among the top losers in the specialty chemicals industry, dropping -3.04% yesterday.

Shares of paint and coatings-related companies are trading lower as concerns over rising energy and chemical feedstock prices dim the outlook for the sector.

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:

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 16 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has dropped -9.98% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -16 percentage points.

Fuller H B Co (NYSE:FUL) 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.

Fuller H B Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 30 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 27. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fuller H B Co's stock has gained 4.26% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -2 percentage points.

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 57, which is 30 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 27. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Eastman Chemical Co's stock has dropped -14.97% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -21 percentage points.

46.34% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 13.04% over the next year.

6.25% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 20.83% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 60.42% are rated C (Hold), 10.42% are rated D (Sell), and 2.08% are rated F (Strong Sell).