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:

Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) 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 Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 22 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Commercial Metals Co has seen its stock return 45.74% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 35 percentage points.

Commercial Metals Co has an average 1 year price target of $75.88, an upside of 0.74% from Commercial Metals Co's current stock price of $75.32.

Commercial Metals Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Commercial Metals Co, 87.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 12.5% 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: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Perma Pipe International Holdings (NASDAQ:PPIH) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 16 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Perma Pipe International Holdings has seen its stock return 97.84% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 87 percentage points.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) 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 Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 14 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Caledonia Mining has seen its stock return 185.57% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 175 percentage points.

Out of 103 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Suzano Sa (NYSE:SUZ) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the basic material sector average of 1.96%. Suzano Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Suzano Sa's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Suzano Sa's dividend payout ratio of 33.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the basic material sector average of 1.96%. ICL Group's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eleven times in the last 10 years. ICL Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

ICL Group's dividend payout ratio of 46.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Fmc (NYSE:FMC) has an annual dividend yield of 11.83%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.96%. 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 -54.8% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were down -0.64% in the last day, and up 0.03% over the last week. Clearwater Paper was the among the top losers in the basic materials sector, dropping -9.66% yesterday.

Clearwater Paper shares are trading lower after Truist Securities initiated coverage on the stock with a Hold rating and announced a $21 price target.

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:

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) 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.

Caledonia Mining has a valuation score of 57, which is 34 points higher than the basic material sector average of 23. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 185.57% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 175 percentage points.

Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) 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.

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

Vale Sa's stock has gained 66.26% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 55 percentage points.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) 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.

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

Cabot's stock has dropped -25.04% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -36 percentage points.

46.26% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 5.5% over the next year.

6.62% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 15.44% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 50% are rated C (Hold), 17.28% are rated D (Sell), and 10.66% are rated F (Strong Sell).