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: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 22 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 293.77% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 270 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $17.25, a downside of -24.21% from Iamgold's current stock price of $22.76.

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.

Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) 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 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 51.07% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 27 percentage points.

Commercial Metals Co has an average 1 year price target of $78.71, an upside of 4.06% from Commercial Metals Co's current stock price of $75.64.

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.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) 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 Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 27, which is -3 points lower than the basic material sector average of 30. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates GAU as a "A".It passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Galiano Gold has seen its stock return 143.75% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 120 percentage points.

Galiano Gold has an average 1 year price target of $4.25, an upside of 36.22% from Galiano Gold's current stock price of $3.12.

Galiano Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Galiano Gold, 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.

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 13.32%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.95%. 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 12.38%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.95%. 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 9.62%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.95%. 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 -232.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were down -0.23% in the last day, and up 0.54% over the last week. Stepan Co was the among the top losers in the basic materials sector, dropping -20.38% yesterday.

Stepan Company shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 financial results.

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 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 -12.15% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -36 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 57, which is 34 points higher than the basic material sector average of 23. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 199.1% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 175 percentage points.

B2gold (NYSEMKT:BTG) 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.

B2gold has a valuation score of 71, which is 48 points higher than the basic material sector average of 23. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 101.4% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 78 percentage points.

42.99% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 4.17% over the next year.

6.27% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 21.03% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 46.86% are rated C (Hold), 16.24% are rated D (Sell), and 9.59% are rated F (Strong Sell).