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 314 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: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) has a Due Diligence Score of 20, which is -9 points lower than the basic material sector average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NEXA as a "A".It passed 8 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Nexa Resources Sa has seen its stock return 103.68% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 88 percentage points.

Nexa Resources Sa has an average 1 year price target of $9.17, a downside of -17.27% from Nexa Resources Sa's current stock price of $11.08.

Nexa Resources Sa stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 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.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 314 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 Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 16, which is -13 points lower than the basic material sector average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates GAU as a "A".It passed 5 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Galiano Gold has seen its stock return 86.43% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 70 percentage points.

Galiano Gold has an average 1 year price target of $4.25, an upside of 62.84% from Galiano Gold's current stock price of $2.61.

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

Perma Pipe International Holdings (NASDAQ:PPIH) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 314 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 17 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Perma Pipe International Holdings has seen its stock return 108.33% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 92 percentage points.

Out of 124 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 13.19%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.93%. 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 9.11%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.93%. 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.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) has an annual dividend yield of 8.55%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.93%. 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 0.51% in the last day, and down -2.54% over the last week. Alcoa was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 4.73% yesterday.

Alcoa shares are trading higher after Citigroup raised its price target on the stock from $54 to $76.

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 29, which is 8 points higher than the basic material sector average of 21. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 103.68% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 88 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 22 points higher than the basic material sector average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cabot's stock has dropped -18.37% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -34 percentage points.

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) 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.

Fortuna Mining has a valuation score of 71, which is 50 points higher than the basic material sector average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 79.13% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 63 percentage points.

45.83% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 15.82% over the next year.

6.55% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 17.82% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 48.36% are rated C (Hold), 19.64% are rated D (Sell), and 7.64% are rated F (Strong Sell).