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:

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 315 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 Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) has a Due Diligence Score of 25, which is -5 points lower than the basic material sector average of 30. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NEXA as a "A".It passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Nexa Resources Sa has seen its stock return 100.85% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 69 percentage points.

Nexa Resources Sa has an average 1 year price target of $11.38, a downside of -4.01% from Nexa Resources Sa's current stock price of $11.85.

Nexa Resources Sa stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Nexa Resources Sa, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 315 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 Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 16 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 190.99% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 159 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $25.00, an upside of 24.88% from Iamgold's current stock price of $20.02.

Iamgold stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Iamgold, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 315 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 -18 points lower than the basic material sector average of 30. 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 79.54% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 48 percentage points.

Out of 131 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) has an annual dividend yield of 9.51%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.74%. 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 8.9%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.74%. Cvr Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% ten times in the last 10 years. Cvr Partners's dividend has not 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.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) has an annual dividend yield of 8.31%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.74%. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout ratio of 136.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were up 0.56% in the last day, and up 3.83% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why basic material stocks are up.

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:

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) 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.

Nexa Resources Sa 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.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 100.85% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 69 percentage points.

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) 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.

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 68.22% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 37 percentage points.

B2gold (NYSEMKT:BTG) 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.

B2gold 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.

B2gold's stock has gained 61.11% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 29 percentage points.

42.79% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 10.77% over the next year.

7.45% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 17.02% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 48.94% are rated C (Hold), 17.38% are rated D (Sell), and 9.22% are rated F (Strong Sell).