The 12 Best Materials Stocks to Buy for 2022

Infrastructure spending and a continued economic recovery could boost materials stocks in the new year. Here are 12 top sector picks for 2022.

steel plant
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Even Wall Street's best materials stocks often go overlooked. But the sometimes boring sector enjoyed renewed interest at different times throughout 2021 – a trend that should carry into 2022 as the global economy continues to recover.

Materials-sector companies are involved in activities such as mining, producing refined metals and manufacturing chemicals. Their products are effectively building blocks used in developing a variety of goods. (Steel is used to create buildings, fertilizers are used to grow food, etc.)

Excitement for materials stocks ebbed and flowed throughout 2021 alongside investors' optimism for the economic recovery. The sector roughly matched the S&P 500's performance for most of the year, though optimism for metals is high going into 2022 thanks in part to the passage of the recent infrastructure bill.

Materials stocks can also help investors navigate inflation; many commodities are priced in dollars, so a cheaper dollar means higher prices for commodities in dollar terms.

Just one bit of caution about enthusiasm over materials or any other recovery-related plays: COVID variants, such as the recently dubbed "omicron" strain, could be a source of volatility going forward.

With that said, here are 12 of the best materials stocks to buy in 2022. We looked at stocks tracked by the Stock News POWR Ratings System (opens in new tab) and focused only on those that received a Buy or Strong Buy rating from the pros based on the company's current fundamentals and longer-term outlook. We then explored what made each pick stand out to Wall Street's analysts.

Data is as of Nov. 29. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price.

David Cohne
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com

David Cohne has 20 years of experience as an investment analyst and writer. Prior to StockNews, David spent 11 years as a consultant providing outsourced investment research and content to financial services companies, hedge funds and online publications. David enjoys researching and writing about stocks and the markets. He takes a fundamental quantitative approach in evaluating stocks for readers.