Top Gold Stocks for April 2020

Gold has long been regarded as a safe haven in times of market turmoil. Many investors have gained exposure to the gold industry by buying stocks of companies engaged in the exploration and mining of the precious metal. Some of the biggest names in the gold industry include mining companies like Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM), Franco Nevada Corp. (FNV), and Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD). Gold stocks, as represented by the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), have underperformed the broader market, posting a negative total return of 14.8% compared to the S&P 500's decline of 0.9% over the past 12 months. These market performance numbers and the statistics in the tables below are as of March 13. The price of gold has been very volatile recently due to the COVID-19 crisis. Gold-mining stocks have been similarly volatile, so be very careful investing right now.

Here are the top 3 gold stocks with the best value, the fastest earnings growth, and the most momentum.

These are the gold stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.

Source: YCharts

• Kinross Gold Corp.: Kinross Gold is a Canada-based gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of gold with properties in Canada, the U.S., Russia, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Ghana, and Mauritania. The company reported earlier in March that it had received an upgrade in its credit rating from Moody's Investors Service to investment grade.
• Barrick Gold Corp.: Barrick Gold is a Canada-based mining company principally engaged in the production and sale of gold and copper. The company has operating mines and development projects in the U.S., Canada, South America, Australia, and Africa.
• K92 Mining Inc.: K92 Mining is a Canada-based mineral exploration and production firm focused on the Kainantu gold mine in Papua New Guinea.

These are the gold stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) earnings per share (EPS) growth for the most recent quarter. Rising earnings show that a company’s business is growing and is generating more money that it can reinvest or return to shareholders.

Source: YCharts

• Newmont Corp.: Newmont acquires and develops mineral properties. The company produces primarily gold, but also silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Newmont reported annual net income growth of 658.9% on annual revenue growth of 34.3% in 2019.
• Torex Gold Resources Inc.: Torex Gold Resources is a Canada-based gold mining company engaged in the exploration and development of gold properties. The company has operations in the Morelos Gold property located in southern Mexico. Torex Gold Resources posted annual diluted EPS growth of 207.4% on annual revenue growth of 44.7% in 2019.
• Pretium Resources Inc.: Pretium Resources is a Canada-based precious metals exploration and development company primarily focused on gold deposits in Canada.

These are the gold stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

Source: YCharts

• DRDGoId Ltd.: DRDGold is a South Africa-based gold mining company. The company owns and operates underground mines and surface-retreatment operations in South Africa. DRDGold posted YOY revenue growth of 68.6% for the six-month period that ended December 31, 2019.
• Continental Gold Inc.: Continental Gold is a Canada-based exploration and development company focused on gold production.
• K92 Mining Inc.: See above for company description.