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: B, 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 373.5% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 357 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 80.51% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.54.

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.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) 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 Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: A.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 20 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Westlake Chemical Partners has seen its stock return 5.11% over the past year, underperforming other basic material stocks by -12 percentage points.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) 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 Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) has a Due Diligence Score of 25, which is -4 points lower than the basic material sector average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ECVT as a "A".It passed 8 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ecovyst has seen its stock return 62.74% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 46 percentage points.

Ecovyst has an average 1 year price target of $15.33, an upside of 18.22% from Ecovyst's current stock price of $12.97.

Ecovyst stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Ecovyst, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 33.33% 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 1.75%.

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 1.75%.

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 11.47%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.75%. 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 1.05% in the last day, and up 4.77% over the last week. Bionexus Gene Lab was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 16.82% yesterday.

Shares of companies in the broader industrial sector are trading higher as easing US-Iran peace framework drove oil prices sharply lower, lifting sentiment across industrial names.

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 26 points higher than the basic material sector average of 17. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 190.52% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 174 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 43, which is 26 points higher than the basic material sector average of 17. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 20.81% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 4 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 54 points higher than the basic material sector average of 17. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 38.16% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 21 percentage points.

43.05% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 14.31% over the next year.

9.47% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 16.14% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 49.47% are rated C (Hold), 13.68% are rated D (Sell), and 11.23% are rated F (Strong Sell).