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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

Overview Zen Rating Price Value Growth Financials

Momentum Sentiment Forecast Dividends Due Diligence

Specialty Chemicals is Zen Rated C and is the 76th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	ROE	ROA	ROCE	ROIC	D/E	Current Ratio	Gross Margin	Profit Margin	Operating Margin
NGVT	INGEVITY CORP	$1.21B	-136.30%	-19.00%	-24.90%	-15.60%	9.36	1.87	32.30%	-30.60%	-31.13%
ODC	OIL-DRI CORP OF AMERICA	$623.43M	20.90%	13.20%	20.24%	20.90%	0.50	2.86	29.70%	9.80%	13.11%
HWKN	HAWKINS INC	$2.50B	19.00%	11.90%	18.69%	24.60%	0.55	2.50	23.00%	8.60%	12.23%
PRM	PERIMETER SOLUTIONS INC	$1.53B	-0.60%	-0.20%	-0.27%	-0.70%	1.09	6.31	56.50%	-1.10%	-1.14%
AXTA	AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD	$7.05B	21.40%	5.40%	11.89%	11.60%	2.77	2.01	34.10%	7.40%	13.29%
NEU	NEWMARKET CORP	$5.87B	34.40%	15.20%	23.37%	21.70%	1.13	2.84	32.50%	17.20%	23.75%
SCL	STEPAN CO	$1.20B	4.20%	2.10%	4.56%	3.50%	0.97	1.21	12.50%	2.30%	3.42%
CMT	CORE MOLDING TECHNOLOGIES INC	$135.39M	9.10%	6.10%	10.00%	12.80%	0.42	2.80	17.60%	4.40%	5.72%
BCPC	BALCHEM CORP	$5.12B	11.80%	8.60%	12.96%	27.90%	0.34	2.44	35.50%	14.20%	19.86%
ECVT	ECOVYST INC	$726.50M	-0.90%	-0.40%	2.63%	2.20%	1.57	2.64	28.60%	-0.90%	6.30%
MATV	MATIV HOLDINGS INC	$278.58M	-5.50%	-1.90%	-0.19%	-0.20%	1.85	2.40	18.40%	-2.50%	-0.21%
IOSP	INNOSPEC INC	$2.25B	2.90%	2.00%	2.34%	4.60%	0.43	2.58	29.40%	1.90%	1.73%
DD	DUPONT DE NEMOURS INC	$27.61B	3.00%	1.90%	4.66%	8.70%	0.55	1.33	36.40%	5.70%	11.97%
KRO	KRONOS WORLDWIDE INC	$854.72M	10.70%	4.80%	13.40%	10.60%	1.34	2.32	19.00%	4.60%	10.20%
CBT	CABOT CORP	$4.19B	30.70%	11.60%	21.35%	16.80%	1.56	2.00	24.50%	10.60%	15.48%
IFF	INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC	$19.91B	1.70%	0.80%	2.38%	3.10%	1.06	1.85	35.90%	2.10%	5.04%
FSI	FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC	$47.43M	8.30%	5.20%	9.35%	10.10%	0.49	2.92	34.60%	7.90%	11.77%
SXT	SENSIENT TECHNOLOGIES CORP	$3.93B	11.70%	6.20%	10.93%	9.80%	0.91	3.55	32.60%	8.00%	12.30%
AVNT	AVIENT CORP	$3.06B	7.30%	2.90%	6.51%	9.90%	1.51	1.88	32.60%	5.20%	10.16%
WDFC	WD 40 CO	$3.08B	37.10%	19.00%	28.82%	32.70%	0.89	2.40	54.10%	14.00%	16.27%
KWR	QUAKER CHEMICAL CORP	$1.87B	6.80%	3.50%	7.78%	12.00%	0.92	2.45	36.70%	5.20%	9.84%
OEC	ORION SA	$677.58M	9.10%	2.30%	7.71%	4.80%	2.91	1.19	22.80%	2.40%	5.50%
ESI	ELEMENT SOLUTIONS INC	$5.01B	11.80%	5.80%	8.81%	12.90%	0.90	3.95	42.10%	11.60%	15.83%
SQM	CHEMICAL & MINING CO OF CHILE INC	$9.70B	14.30%	6.20%	12.56%	9.60%	1.22	2.51	29.30%	15.10%	25.73%
WTTR	SELECT WATER SOLUTIONS INC	$1.04B	3.90%	2.30%	4.52%	4.80%	0.57	1.65	15.10%	2.10%	3.52%
CC	CHEMOURS CO	$1.82B	12.60%	1.10%	6.85%	4.30%	11.44	1.68	19.90%	1.50%	6.76%
OLN	OLIN CORP	$2.50B	5.20%	1.40%	5.55%	4.40%	2.73	1.27	11.30%	1.70%	5.04%
KOP	KOPPERS HOLDINGS INC	$515.22M	10.30%	2.70%	9.54%	6.90%	2.87	2.09	20.20%	2.50%	7.14%
FUL	FULLER H B CO	$2.92B	6.20%	2.30%	6.91%	7.90%	1.79	1.98	29.60%	3.20%	8.47%
MTX	MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES INC	$1.67B	-1.40%	-0.70%	1.62%	1.90%	1.11	1.89	25.60%	-1.10%	2.19%
SSL	SASOL LTD	$2.24B	-26.00%	-11.10%	-7.76%	-5.80%	1.52	2.32	49.90%	-16.10%	-8.76%
LIN	LINDE PLC	$211.16B	17.20%	8.10%	13.06%	19.20%	1.14	0.94	48.30%	20.00%	26.99%
ECL	ECOLAB INC	$71.49B	25.00%	9.70%	16.11%	21.00%	1.55	1.26	43.50%	13.40%	18.00%
AVTR	AVANTOR INC	$8.83B	12.40%	5.70%	10.26%	17.90%	1.02	1.12	33.60%	10.70%	15.79%
PPG	PPG INDUSTRIES INC	$24.69B	14.90%	5.20%	11.76%	13.20%	2.03	1.35	41.20%	7.20%	11.82%
SHW	SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO	$88.62B	66.60%	11.20%	23.16%	22.20%	4.97	0.77	48.70%	11.60%	16.85%
RPM	RPM INTERNATIONAL INC	$13.81B	24.40%	9.70%	16.37%	15.70%	1.48	2.22	41.10%	8.80%	12.06%
FF	FUTUREFUEL CORP	$180.03M	7.40%	5.50%	7.67%	19.90%	0.20	4.95	8.10%	6.40%	6.75%
EMN	EASTMAN CHEMICAL CO	$8.80B	16.10%	6.10%	10.34%	10.80%	1.54	1.72	24.80%	9.80%	14.02%
HDSN	HUDSON TECHNOLOGIES INC	$289.69M	9.90%	8.10%	12.38%	21.80%	0.23	4.09	27.70%	10.30%	13.31%
TSE	TRINSEO PLC	$141.57M	N/A	-12.30%	-2.63%	-1.40%	-5.27	1.37	7.60%	-9.90%	-1.44%
APD	AIR PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS INC	$60.57B	9.70%	3.90%	6.05%	4.40%	1.50	1.00	31.90%	12.80%	16.95%
WLK	WESTLAKE CORP	$11.83B	5.70%	2.90%	5.68%	6.00%	0.92	2.80	16.10%	5.00%	8.66%
GEVO	GEVO INC	$258.78M	-15.30%	-12.90%	-13.36%	-21.70%	0.19	8.36	29.00%	-464.90%	-441.98%
ASH	ASHLAND INC	$2.24B	-4.10%	-2.00%	-5.56%	-6.40%	1.05	2.32	31.70%	-5.70%	-13.59%
LYB	LYONDELLBASELL INDUSTRIES NV	$18.74B	8.20%	2.90%	5.82%	4.50%	1.88	1.83	10.40%	2.80%	4.43%
ALB	ALBEMARLE CORP	$6.98B	-12.60%	-7.50%	-5.83%	-5.60%	0.67	2.11	3.50%	-25.70%	-17.22%
NTIC	NORTHERN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CORP	$68.88M	5.40%	4.10%	7.31%	8.30%	0.29	2.18	39.20%	4.50%	6.54%
LWLG	LIGHTWAVE LOGIC INC	$110.07M	-64.50%	-57.60%	-62.56%	-218.90%	0.13	15.75	92.30%	-23,571.00%	-23,570.99%
ALTO	ALTO INGREDIENTS INC	$68.95M	-23.50%	-14.30%	-14.89%	-11.80%	0.78	2.65	1.00%	-6.20%	-5.30%
SDST	STARDUST POWER INC	$28.89M	N/A	-480.40%	148.39%	708.10%	-1.47	0.09	N/A	N/A	N/A
SNES	SENESTECH INC	$3.88M	-178.10%	-143.50%	-226.79%	-385.10%	0.31	5.01	54.10%	-333.00%	-331.83%
FEAM	5E ADVANCED MATERIALS INC	$13.09M	-926.10%	-79.70%	-94.62%	-43.70%	-9.91	0.15	N/A	N/A	N/A
CNEY	CN ENERGY GROUP INC	$1.73M	-14.00%	-12.50%	-14.15%	-14.10%	0.02	42.41	-0.40%	-27.60%	-26.91%
LOOP	LOOP INDUSTRIES INC	$52.14M	-506.20%	-183.30%	791.88%	-274.30%	-1.68	0.12	100.00%	-21,454.00%	-21,368.25%
BGLC	BIONEXUS GENE LAB CORP	$5.01M	-17.50%	-14.60%	-18.55%	-21.00%	0.25	3.81	13.60%	-16.80%	-16.55%

Specialty Chemical Stocks FAQ

What are the best specialty chemical stocks to buy right now in May 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. Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT)

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) is the #1 top specialty chemical stock out of 56 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: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) has a Due Diligence Score of 6, which is -30 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NGVT as a "A".

NGVT passed 2 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ingevity has seen its stock lose -35.86% over the past year, underperforming other specialty chemical stocks by -27 percentage points.

Ingevity has an average 1 year price target of $48.50, an upside of 45.73% from Ingevity's current stock price of $33.28.

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.

2. Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC)

Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) is the #2 top specialty chemical stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Oil Dri Of America (NYSE:ODC) has a Due Diligence Score of 47, which is 11 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 36.

ODC passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Oil Dri Of America has seen its stock return 20.67% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 29 percentage points.

3. Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) is the #3 top specialty chemical stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 4 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 36.

HWKN passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Hawkins has seen its stock return 59.05% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 68 percentage points.

Hawkins has an average 1 year price target of $160.00, an upside of 33.97% from Hawkins's current stock price of $119.43.

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

What are the specialty chemical stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 35 specialty chemical stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 specialty chemical stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Flexible Solutions International (NYSEMKT:FSI)

Flexible Solutions International (NYSEMKT:FSI) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.29%. Flexible Solutions International's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Flexible Solutions International's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Flexible Solutions International's dividend payout ratio of 41.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

2. Chemours Co (NYSE:CC)

Chemours Co (NYSE:CC) has an annual dividend yield of 8.2%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.29%. Chemours Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Chemours Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Chemours Co's dividend payout ratio of 172.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

3. Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV)

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has an annual dividend yield of 7.83%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 2.29%. 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 -44.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are specialty chemical stocks down?

Specialty chemical stocks were down -0.05% in the last day, and up 1.18% over the last week. Ashland was the among the top losers in the specialty chemicals industry, dropping -9.85% yesterday.

Ashland shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 financial results and cut its FY25 sales guidance. Also, UBS cut its price target on the stock from $85 to $74.

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. Core Molding Technologies (NYSEMKT:CMT)

Core Molding Technologies (NYSEMKT:CMT) 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.

Core Molding Technologies has a valuation score of 43, which is 12 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Core Molding Technologies's stock has dropped -15.11% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -6 percentage points.

2. Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO)

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) 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.

Kronos Worldwide has a valuation score of 71, which is 40 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Kronos Worldwide's stock has dropped -36.55% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -28 percentage points.

3. Cabot (NYSE:CBT)

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 43, which is 12 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has dropped -16.03% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -7 percentage points.

Are specialty chemical stocks a good buy now?

51.22% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 25.64% over the next year.

2% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 16% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 62% are rated C (Hold), 12% are rated D (Sell), and 8% 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 30.33x.

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.