Sectors & IndustriesBasic Materials

Best Basic Material Stocks to Buy Now (2025)

Top basic material stocks in 2025 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 311 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: B.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 7 points higher than the basic material sector average of 31. It passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Centerra Gold has seen its stock return 140.92% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 141 percentage points.

Centerra Gold has an average 1 year price target of $14.17, a downside of -0.79% from Centerra Gold's current stock price of $14.28.

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.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) is the #2 top basic material stock out of 311 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 Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) has a Due Diligence Score of 7, which is -24 points lower than the basic material sector average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates AUGO as a "A".It passed 2 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals.

Aura Minerals has an average 1 year price target of $48.90, an upside of 8.86% from Aura Minerals's current stock price of $44.92.

Aura Minerals stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Aura Minerals, 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.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) is the #3 top basic material stock out of 311 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 Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 19 points higher than the basic material sector average of 31. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Kaiser Aluminum has seen its stock return 40.54% over the past year, overperforming other basic material stocks by 40 percentage points.

Kaiser Aluminum has an average 1 year price target of $106.50, a downside of -2.77% from Kaiser Aluminum's current stock price of $109.53.

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

Out of 106 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.

National Steel Co (NYSE:SID) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the basic material sector average of 2.02%. National Steel Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% six times in the last 10 years. National Steel Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

National Steel Co's dividend payout ratio of -69.9% indicates that its dividend yield might not be 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.

Basic material stocks were up 2.02% in the last day, and up 2.6% over the last week. Quanex Building Products was the among the top gainers in the basic materials sector, gaining 9.55% yesterday.

Quanex Building Products shares are trading higher after the company reported better-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:

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 -8 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. 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 dropped -4.32% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -5 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 57, which is 35 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Vale Sa's stock has gained 34% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by 34 percentage points.

Cf Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF) 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.

Cf Industries Holdings has a valuation score of 29, which is 7 points higher than the basic material sector average of 22. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cf Industries Holdings's stock has dropped -12.14% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the basic material sector by -13 percentage points.

41.12% of basic material stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect basic material stocks to rise by 13.65% over the next year.

5.58% of basic material stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 16.36% of basic material stocks are rated B (Buy), 51.67% are rated C (Hold), 16.36% are rated D (Sell), and 10.04% are rated F (Strong Sell).