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 409.91% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 401 percentage points.

Alto Ingredients has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 76.68% from Alto Ingredients's current stock price of $5.66.

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.

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

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) 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 GAU as a "A".It passed 8 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Galiano Gold has seen its stock return 36.62% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 28 percentage points.

Galiano Gold has an average 1 year price target of $4.08, an upside of 110.05% from Galiano Gold's current stock price of $1.94.

Galiano Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Galiano Gold, 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.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) 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 Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 4 points higher than the basic material sector average of 29. It passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Koppers Holdings has seen its stock return 25.32% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 16 percentage points.

Koppers Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $55.00, an upside of 31.96% from Koppers Holdings's current stock price of $41.68.

Koppers Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Koppers Holdings, 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 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 1.85%.

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 1.85%.

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 12.22%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the basic material sector average of 1.85%. 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 down -2.3% in the last day, and down -4.53% over the last week. Intelligent Living Application Group was the among the top losers in the basic materials sector, dropping -11.8% yesterday.

Shares of companies in the broader industrial sector are trading lower amid elevated oil prices following President Trump's military threats to Iran, which may risk inflation and high interest rates that could hurt demand.

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 144.15% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 135 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 25 points higher than the basic material sector average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 7.78% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -1 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 53 points higher than the basic material sector average of 18. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 17.76% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 9 percentage points.

42.15% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 21.27% over the next year.

9.76% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 16.03% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 48.78% are rated C (Hold), 14.63% are rated D (Sell), and 10.8% are rated F (Strong Sell).