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:

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 326 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 Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 32, which is 3 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 332.76% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 316 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 99.2% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.02.

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.

Buenaventura Mining Co (NYSE:BVN) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 326 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 Buenaventura Mining Co (NYSE:BVN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Buenaventura Mining Co (NYSE:BVN) has a Due Diligence Score of 60, which is 31 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 23 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Buenaventura Mining Co has seen its stock return 96.74% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 80 percentage points.

Buenaventura Mining Co has an average 1 year price target of $44.00, an upside of 35.05% from Buenaventura Mining Co's current stock price of $32.58.

Buenaventura Mining Co stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Buenaventura Mining Co, 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.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 326 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 Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is 1 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Koppers Holdings has seen its stock return 40.39% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 23 percentage points.

Koppers Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $55.00, an upside of 25.77% from Koppers Holdings's current stock price of $43.73.

Koppers Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Koppers Holdings, 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 142 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the basic material sector average of 1.82%.

Ramaco Resources's dividend payout ratio of -6.3% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the basic material sector average of 1.82%.

Algoma Steel Group's dividend payout ratio of 0% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Fmc (NYSE:FMC) has an annual dividend yield of 11.43%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.82%. 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 -6.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were up 0.7% in the last day, and up 2.1% over the last week. Centrus Energy was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 12.38% yesterday.

Centrus Energy shares are trading higher after an Oklo signed an Letter of Intent with the company, which agreed to supply enough domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium to power up to five Aurora powerhouses for multiple years.

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 27 points higher than the basic material sector average of 16. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 193% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 176 percentage points.

B2gold (NYSEMKT:BTG) 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.

B2gold has a valuation score of 29, which is 13 points higher than the basic material sector average of 16. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 16.22% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -1 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 55 points higher than the basic material sector average of 16. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 37.19% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 20 percentage points.

42.79% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 14.78% over the next year.

8.42% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 17.19% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 49.12% are rated C (Hold), 13.33% are rated D (Sell), and 11.93% are rated F (Strong Sell).