Top Gold Stocks for September 2022

Gold has long been regarded as a safe haven in times of market turmoil. Many investors have gained exposure to the precious metal by buying stocks of companies engaged in exploration and mining. Some of the major players in the gold industry include Canada-based Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV), Newmont Corp. (NEM), and Australia-based Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM.AX).

Gold stocks—as represented by an exchange-traded fund (ETF), the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)—have underperformed the broader market over the past year. GDX has provided a total return of -17.9% over the past 12 months, below the -8.2% total return of the Russell 1000 Index. These market performance numbers, and all statistics in the tables and company developments below, are as of Aug. 24, 2022.

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

Best Value Gold Stocks

Value investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves picking stocks that you believe are trading for less than what they are intrinsically worth, usually by measuring the ratio of the stock’s price to one or more fundamental business metrics. A widely accepted value metric is price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Value investors believe that if a business is cheap compared with its intrinsic value—in this case, as measured by its P/E ratio—then the stock price may rise faster than that of others as the price comes back in line with the worth of the company.

These are the stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing P/E ratio.

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• Centerra Gold Inc.: Centerra Gold is a Canada-based gold and copper mining and exploration company. It engages in the operation, exploration, development, and acquisition of gold and copper properties in British Columbia, Canada and Turkey. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the company's proven and probable gold mineral reserves included roughly 4.9 million ounces. On Aug. 17, the company announced the Sept. 6, 2022, appointment of Paul Chawrun as chief operating officer (COO). Chawrun was previously COO of Teranga Gold Corp.
• Torex Gold Resources Inc.: Torex Gold Resources is a Canada-based intermediate gold producer. It engages in the exploration, development, and operation of its 100%-owned Morelos Gold Property, which is composed of 29,000 hectares in the Guerrero Gold Belt in Mexico. The company's principal assets include the El Limón Guajes Mine Complex, composed of open-pit and underground mines as well as a processing plant; and the Media Luna project, an advanced-stage development project. Torex also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TORXF. The company reported Q2 2022 earnings on Aug. 3. Net income grew by 15.8% year over year (YOY) on rising revenue. Torex said that high production and cost controls bolstered performance.
• New Gold Inc.: New Gold is a Canada-based gold mining company. It develops and operates two mineral properties in Canada located in Ontario and British Columbia. It has gold-equivalent production guidance of 325,000-365,000 gold equivalent ounces for 2022.
  
• Calibre Mining Corp.: Calibre Mining is a Canada-based gold producer with operations in North and South America. The company operates several producing gold mines in Nicaragua: El Limόn, which covers an area of 12,000 hectares; La Libertad, which covers approximately 10,937 hectares; and Pavon, covering 31.5 square kilometers. It also operates the Pan Gold Mine, located in Nevada. Calibre also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol CXBMF. Calibre released its earnings report for Q2 2022 on Aug. 9. Net income climbed by 29.8% as revenue rose 14.3% YOY. The company's Nevada operations contributed significantly to the increases.
• i-80 Gold Corp.: i-80 Gold is a Canada-based gold mining company with operations primarily in Nevada, and it is engaged in exploration, development, and production. It is 100% owner of the 12,000-acre Lone Tree site in northern Nevada and has four other properties in various stages of development as well. i-80 Gold also trades OTC in the U.S. under the ticker IAUX.

Fastest Growing Gold Stocks

These are the top gold stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and most recent quarterly YOY earnings-per-share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore, ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one figure or the other unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of more than 2,500% were excluded as outliers.

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• Sandstorm Gold Ltd.: Sandstorm Gold is a Canada-based gold royalty company that provides financing to gold mining companies in exchange for the right to a percentage of gold produced from mines. The company has a portfolio of 250 royalties. On Aug. 15, Sandstorm completed the acquisition of minerals royalty company Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. In the process. The implied equity value of the acquisition was approximately $590 million.
• Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.: Agnico Eagle Mines is a Canada-based gold mining company with operations in Canada, Australia, Finland, and Mexico. It has additional development and exploration projects in the U.S. and Colombia. The company forecasts gold production of 3.2 million to 3.4 million ounces in 2022. Agnico reported Q2 2022 earnings on July 27. Net income grew 40.5% on robust revenue growth YOY. The results were impacted by a fair value adjustment on inventory sold, mark-to-market losses on Agnico's investment portfolio, derivative losses on financial instruments, and other factors.
• OceanaGold Corp.: OceanaGold is an Australia-based gold producer engaged in the development, exploration, and operation of gold properties. The company also produces copper and silver. Its operations include the Didipio Mine in the Philippines; Macraes and Waihi operations in New Zealand; and the Haile Gold Mine in the U.S. The company employs over 2,300 people. OceanaGold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol OCANF.
• Torex Gold Resources Inc.: See company description above.
• Iamgold Corp.: Iamgold is a Canada-based gold mining company with operations including in Canada, Burkina Faso, and Suriname. The company has additional exploration and development projects in West Africa and other locations. It employs roughly 5,000. On Aug. 3, Iamgold reported earnings for Q2 2022. Its net loss widened YOY on growing revenue. COVID-19, inflation, and the continued development of the company's Canada-based Côté Gold project impacted results. Note that Iamgold does not have an EPS growth figure in the chart above because both Q2 2021 and Q2 2021 EPS figures were negative.

Gold Stocks With the Most Momentum

Momentum investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves investing in a stock whose price has risen faster than the market as a whole. Momentum investors believe that stocks that have outperformed the market will often continue to do so because the factors that caused them to outperform will not suddenly disappear. In addition, other investors, seeking to benefit from the stock’s outperformance, will often purchase the stock, further bidding its price higher and pushing the stock higher still.

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

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• Asante Gold Corp.: Asante Gold is a Canada-base gold exploration, production, and development company. Its primary operations are at the Bibiani mine, the Chirano mine, and the Kubi development project in Ghana. The company has discovered and developed more than 24 million ounces of gold resources and reserves in Ghana. On Aug. 10, Asante announced that it had completed the acquisition of Red Back Mining Pty Ltd, which indirectly held a 90% interest in the Chirano Gold Mine, for a total acquisition cost of about $225 million. The Ghanaian government retains the remaining 10% interest.
• Orezone Gold Corp.: Orezone Gold is a Canada-based mineral development company that owns a 90% interest in Bomboré, an undeveloped gold deposit in Burkina Faso. Orezone anticipates bringing Bomboré into production in Q3 2022. It expects Bomboré to produce around 1.6 million ounces of gold over a mining life of 13 years or more. Orezone trades in OTC markets in the U.S. under the ticker ORZCF.
• Yamana Gold Inc.: Yamana Gold is a Canada-based precious metals producer. Its portfolio includes gold and silver producing properties in Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. In 2021 it produced over 1 million gold-equivalent ounces. Gold equivalent production for the year was 88% of the company's total production and silver was 12%. On May 31, Yamana Gold announced that Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) would acquire Yamana. The transaction is valued at $6.7 billion and is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
• Alamos Gold Inc.: Alamos Gold is a Canada-based gold producer. It operates three mines located in Canada and Mexico. It also has additional projects in development in Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and the U.S. The company employs over 1,700. Alamos Gold trades in the U.S. under the ticker AGI.
• K92 Mining Inc.: K92 Mining is a Canada-based gold mining company. It operates the Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea. The company also has 11 drill rigs involved in exploration projects in various regions. K92 shares trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker KNTNF. On Aug. 9, K92 said that significant gold-equivalent resources were estimated to be located at the its Blue Lake porphyry project just southwest of the company's projects. The company has additional plans for drilling and exploration of the project.

The Impact of the U.S. Dollar on Gold Stocks

The U.S. dollar, or greenback, has had a longstanding relationship with gold dating back to the introduction of the gold standard in the 1880s, where paper money was directly linked to a specific amount of the yellow metal. Although former president Franklin D. Roosevelt removed the gold standard in 1933, the Greenback still closely correlates with gold—and subsequently gold stocks—as the metal is priced in U.S. dollars. 

Typically, a strong U.S. dollar means weaker gold prices as demand for the precious metal eases from buyers using foreign currencies. Conversely, demand increases when the greenback loses value, making gold cheaper for offshore buyers. Although the U.S. dollar and gold often have an inverse relationship, both can move in the same direction. For example, during periods of global uncertainty, both assets may rise as investors flock to safe-haven investments. Due to its finite supply, gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, while the greenback's status as the global reserve currency makes it sought after during times of risk aversion.

Advantages of Holding Gold Stocks in Your Portfolio

Two key advantages of holding gold stocks include leveraged upside and liquidity.

Leveraged Upside and Diversification: Buying gold stocks allows investors to effectively take a leveraged bet on the yellow metal's price, as miners can increase production and grow their sales when gold rises in value. Because gold stocks closely follow the commodity's price, the sector also provides a partial hedge against inflation, helping to diversify a "risk-on" equity portfolio. 

Gold Discoveries: Large discoveries can significantly increase gold mining stocks' prices, particularly if a junior miner has a small market capitalization. For instance, Canadian junior explorer Enduro Metals Corporation (ENDMF) announced that it had intersected gold in one of its mines in May 2021. Subsequently, shares of the $32.43 million miner more than doubled over the next several months.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed herein are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or adopt any investment strategy. Though we believe the information provided herein is reliable, we do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. The views and strategies described in our content may not be suitable for all investors. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, all comments, opinions, and analyses contained within our content are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment, or strategy.