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:

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 312 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: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 19 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 233.91% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 216 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $17.25, a downside of -18.9% from Iamgold's current stock price of $21.27.

Iamgold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Iamgold, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% 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 312 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 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 116.27% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 98 percentage points.

Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 312 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 46, which is 16 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Commercial Metals Co has seen its stock return 48.33% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 30 percentage points.

Commercial Metals Co has an average 1 year price target of $78.71, an upside of 0.03% from Commercial Metals Co's current stock price of $78.69.

Commercial Metals Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Commercial Metals Co, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% 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 99 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 12.57%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.88%. 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.

Cvr Partners (NYSE:UAN) has an annual dividend yield of 11.04%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.88%. Cvr Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% nine 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 127.8% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv (NYSE:LYB) has an annual dividend yield of 9.74%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.88%. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lyondellbasell Industries Nv's dividend payout ratio of -144.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were up 0.48% in the last day, and down -2.8% over the last week. Evolution Metals & Technologies was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 27.63% yesterday.

Evolution Metals & Technologies shares are trading higher after Clear Street initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and announced a $30 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:

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) 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.

Cabot 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.

Cabot's stock has dropped -14.72% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -33 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 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 120.72% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 103 percentage points.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) 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.

Caledonia Mining has a valuation score of 57, which is 36 points higher than the basic material sector average of 21. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 169.11% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 151 percentage points.

44.39% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 3.93% over the next year.

8.09% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 18.75% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 45.96% are rated C (Hold), 16.54% are rated D (Sell), and 10.66% are rated F (Strong Sell).