Sectors & IndustriesBasic Materials

Best Basic Material Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top basic material stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best basic material stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the basic materials sector.

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 basic material stocks to buy right now are:

Constellium Se (NYSE:CSTM) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 310 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 Constellium Se (NYSE:CSTM) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Constellium Se (NYSE:CSTM) has a Due Diligence Score of 48, which is 20 points higher than the basic material sector average of 28. It passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Constellium Se has seen its stock return 142.32% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 122 percentage points.

Constellium Se has an average 1 year price target of $29.00, an upside of 10.1% from Constellium Se's current stock price of $26.34.

Constellium Se stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Constellium Se, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Perma Pipe International Holdings (NASDAQ:PPIH) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 310 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 Perma Pipe International Holdings (NASDAQ:PPIH) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Perma Pipe International Holdings (NASDAQ:PPIH) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 18 points higher than the basic material sector average of 28. It passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Perma Pipe International Holdings has seen its stock return 125.78% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 105 percentage points.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 310 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: B, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has a Due Diligence Score of 12, which is -16 points lower than the basic material sector average of 28. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MATV as a "A".It passed 4 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Mativ Holdings has seen its stock return 49.47% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 29 percentage points.

Out of 101 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Fmc (NYSE:FMC) has an annual dividend yield of 12.74%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.9%. Fmc's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Fmc's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Fmc's dividend payout ratio of -10.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) has an annual dividend yield of 9.3%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.9%. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout ratio of 104.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Cvr Partners (NYSE:UAN) has an annual dividend yield of 8.49%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.9%. Cvr Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% nine times in the last 10 years. Cvr Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cvr Partners's dividend payout ratio of 127.8% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were down -2.77% in the last day, and down -4.83% over the last week. Hycroft Mining Holding was the among the top losers in the basic materials sector, dropping -13.86% yesterday.

Shares of precious metal companies are trading lower amid a stronger dollar and rising yields as the market drops due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

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 basic material stocks right now are:

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) is the most undervalued basic material stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Fortuna Mining has a valuation score of 71, which is 49 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 163.82% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 143 percentage points.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) is the second most undervalued basic material 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 21 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has dropped -10.72% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -31 percentage points.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is the third most undervalued basic material stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Nexa Resources Sa has a valuation score of 29, which is 7 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 113.46% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 93 percentage points.

46.01% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 10.18% over the next year.

6.23% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 20.51% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 47.62% are rated C (Hold), 17.22% are rated D (Sell), and 8.42% are rated F (Strong Sell).