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 323 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: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 6 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Alto Ingredients has seen its stock return 436.56% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 419 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 91.94% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.21.

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.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 323 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: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 56, which is 26 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 18 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 153.8% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 136 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $25.00, an upside of 44.01% from Iamgold's current stock price of $17.36.

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.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 323 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: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) has a Due Diligence Score of 26, which is -4 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 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Nexa Resources Sa has seen its stock return 198.8% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 181 percentage points.

Nexa Resources Sa has an average 1 year price target of $11.75, a downside of -21.19% from Nexa Resources Sa's current stock price of $14.91.

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.

Out of 141 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

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 1.73%.

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

Cvr Partners (NYSE:UAN) has an annual dividend yield of 10%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.73%. 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 shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cvr Partners's dividend payout ratio of 91.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Fmc (NYSE:FMC) has an annual dividend yield of 9.73%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.73%. 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 0.72% in the last day, and up 4.37% over the last week. Luda Technology Group was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 25.95% yesterday.

Luda Technology Group shares are trading higher after the company announced it acquired a 4% stake in The Hong Kong International New Economic Research Institute for $1.2 million in cash.

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:

B2gold (NYSEMKT:BTG) 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.

B2gold has a valuation score of 43, which is 23 points higher than the basic material sector average of 20. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 32.95% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 15 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 51 points higher than the basic material sector average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 64.32% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 47 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 43, which is 23 points higher than the basic material sector average of 20. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 198.8% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 181 percentage points.

41.7% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 13.82% over the next year.

9.03% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 18.06% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 49.31% are rated C (Hold), 12.85% are rated D (Sell), and 10.76% are rated F (Strong Sell).