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:

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 6 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Green Plains has seen its stock return 76.12% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 61 percentage points.

Green Plains has an average 1 year price target of $18.25, an upside of 17.29% from Green Plains's current stock price of $15.56.

Green Plains stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Green Plains, 25% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 20 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Nucor has seen its stock return 97.47% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 82 percentage points.

Nucor has an average 1 year price target of $268.10, a downside of -1.42% from Nucor's current stock price of $271.95.

Nucor stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Nucor, 54.55% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 9.09% have issued a Buy, 36.36% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) 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 +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) has a Due Diligence Score of 51, which is 21 points higher than the basic material sector average of 30. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Kaiser Aluminum has seen its stock return 166.97% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 152 percentage points.

Kaiser Aluminum has an average 1 year price target of $168.25, a downside of -13% from Kaiser Aluminum's current stock price of $193.39.

Kaiser Aluminum stock has a consensus Sell recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Kaiser Aluminum, 25% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 25% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 50% 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 12.04%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.7%. 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 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 9.7%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.7%. 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.

Fmc (NYSE:FMC) has an annual dividend yield of 7.88%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.7%. 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 -3.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Basic material stocks were up 0.41% in the last day, and up 3.64% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why basic material stocks are up.

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 25 points higher than the basic material sector average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 194.9% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 180 percentage points.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) 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.

Iamgold has a valuation score of 71, which is 53 points higher than the basic material sector average of 18. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Iamgold's stock has gained 140.53% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 126 percentage points.

Oceanagold (NYSE:OGC) 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.

Oceanagold has a valuation score of 71, which is 53 points higher than the basic material sector average of 18. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

43.48% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 15.31% over the next year.

5.3% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 17.31% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 50.53% are rated C (Hold), 15.9% are rated D (Sell), and 10.95% are rated F (Strong Sell).