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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:

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (NYSE:SQM) 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 Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (NYSE:SQM) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (NYSE:SQM) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is -2 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SQM as a "A".

SQM passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile has seen its stock return 81.13% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 74 percentage points.

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile has an average 1 year price target of $85.20, an upside of 3.95% from Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile's current stock price of $81.96.

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile, 40% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 20% have issued a hold, while 20% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) 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 Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) has a Due Diligence Score of 17, which is -14 points lower than the specialty chemical industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates KRO as a "A".

KRO passed 6 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Kronos Worldwide has seen its stock return 35.09% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 28 percentage points.

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

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 47, which is 16 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 31.

ALTO passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 325.24% over the past year, overperforming other specialty chemical stocks by 318 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 128.31% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $4.38.

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.

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 6.1%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.85%. 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 4.52%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.85%. 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.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.35%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 1.85%. Olin's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Olin's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Olin's dividend payout ratio of -46.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Specialty chemical stocks were up 0.82% in the last day, and down -1.72% over the last week. Albemarle was the among the top gainers in the specialty chemicals industry, gaining 6.75% yesterday.

Shares of critical metal companies are trading higher, possibly after the U.S. DOE recently selected seven projects to expand critical mineral and material processing, battery manufacturing and recycling capacity. This third round of funding aligns with President Trump's 'Unleashing American Energy' executive order that benefits critical metal and non-fuel mineral producers and processors.

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:

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (NYSE:SQM) is the 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.

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile has a valuation score of 14, which is -8 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SQM a Valuation Rating of "B".

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile's stock has gained 81.13% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 74 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 35 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fuller H B Co's stock has dropped -0.98% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by -8 percentage points.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv (NYSE:LYB) 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.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv has a valuation score of 14, which is -8 points higher than the specialty chemical industry average of 22. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates LYB a Valuation Rating of "B".

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's stock has gained 21.74% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the specialty chemical industry by 15 percentage points.

48.84% of specialty chemical stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect specialty chemical stocks to rise by 19.43% over the next year.

11.76% of specialty chemical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 29.41% of specialty chemical stocks are rated B (Buy), 43.14% are rated C (Hold), 11.76% are rated D (Sell), and 3.92% are rated F (Strong Sell).