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:

Sasol (NYSE:SSL) is the #1 top basic material stock out of 334 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sasol (NYSE:SSL) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is -2 points lower than the basic material sector average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SSL as a "A".It passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sasol has seen its stock return 138.26% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 147 percentage points.

Sasol stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Sasol, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 334 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Mativ Holdings (NYSE:MATV) has a Due Diligence Score of 26, which is -5 points lower than the basic material sector average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MATV as a "A".It passed 9 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Mativ Holdings has seen its stock return 10.99% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 20 percentage points.

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 334 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is -8 points lower than the basic material sector average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SBSW as a "A".It passed 7 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Sibanye Stillwater has seen its stock lose -15.61% over the past year, underperforming other basic material stocks by -7 percentage points.

Sibanye Stillwater has an average 1 year price target of $13.50, an upside of 39.46% from Sibanye Stillwater's current stock price of $9.68.

Sibanye Stillwater stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Sibanye Stillwater, 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 140 basic material stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 basic material stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Cvr Partners (NYSE:UAN) has an annual dividend yield of 11.55%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 2.02%. Cvr Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eight 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 81.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) has an annual dividend yield of 9.76%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 2.02%. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout ratio of 117.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) has an annual dividend yield of 8.82%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 2.02%. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout ratio of 115.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were down -2.19% in the last day, and down -0.04% over the last week. Luda Technology Group was the among the top losers in the basic materials sector, dropping -9.18% yesterday.

Shares of steel-related companies are trading lower as larger inventories and elevated financing costs weigh on activity and prices.

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

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 146.58% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 155 percentage points.

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) 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.

Sibanye Stillwater 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 SBSW a Valuation Rating of "A".

Sibanye Stillwater's stock has dropped -15.61% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -7 percentage points.

Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ:CENX) 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.

Century Aluminum Co 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.

Century Aluminum Co's stock has gained 28.27% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 37 percentage points.

44.49% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 28.32% over the next year.

4.59% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 14.13% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 54.06% are rated C (Hold), 18.02% are rated D (Sell), and 9.19% are rated F (Strong Sell).