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:

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 309 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 Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 8 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Centerra Gold has seen its stock return 167.89% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 156 percentage points.

Centerra Gold has an average 1 year price target of $14.17, a downside of -7.71% from Centerra Gold's current stock price of $15.35.

Centerra Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Centerra Gold, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 66.67% have issued a Buy, 33.33% 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 309 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 43, which is 13 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Perma Pipe International Holdings has seen its stock return 131.91% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 120 percentage points.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 309 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 Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has a Due Diligence Score of 12, which is -18 points lower than the basic material sector average of 30. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MATV as a "A".It passed 4 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Mativ Holdings has seen its stock return 12.73% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 1 percentage points.

Out of 102 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 2.02%. 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 2.02%. 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 12.26%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 2.02%. 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 up 1.93% in the last day, and up 4.46% over the last week. Lithium Americas (Argentina) was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 14.61% yesterday.

Lithium Argentina shares are trading higher after the company announced strong preliminary 2025 operational results for the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy, Argentina.

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 14, which is -9 points higher than the basic material sector average of 23. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NEXA a Valuation Rating of "A".

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 39.17% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 27 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 64.39% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 52 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 -20.91% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -33 percentage points.

42.86% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 9.73% over the next year.

6.67% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 16.67% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 50.37% are rated C (Hold), 14.44% are rated D (Sell), and 11.85% are rated F (Strong Sell).