Top Gold Stocks for October 2021

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).

Gold stocks, as represented by the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), have dramatically underperformed the broader market over the past year as the U.S. economy and other economies have begun to recover amid the global pandemic. GDX has provided a total return of -23.4% over the past 12 months, well below the 35.5% total return of the iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB). These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Sept. 22, 2021.

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 the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Value investors believe that if a business is cheap compared to its intrinsic value, in this case as measured by its P/E ratio, then the stock price may rise faster than 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.

^{Source: YCharts}

• Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd.: Sibanye-Stillwater is a South Africa-based producer of precious metals. The company develops and extracts mineral properties. Its diverse portfolio includes platinum metal operations in the United States and Southern Africa, gold operations and projects in South Africa, and copper, gold, and platinum metal exploration properties in North and South America. The company is the largest primary producer of platinum, the second largest primary producer of palladium, and ranks third among global gold producers on a gold-equivalent basis.
• 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 Limon Guajes Mine Complex, composed of open pit and underground mines; and the Media Luna Project, an advanced-stage development project. Torex also has shares that trade over the counter (OTC) in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TORXF.
• Gran Colombia Gold Corp.: Gran Colombia Gold is a Canada-based, mid-tier gold producer with mining operations in Latin America. The company is the largest underground gold and silver producer in Colombia, where it operates several mines at its high-grade Segovia Operations. It is also working to advance its recently acquired Toroparu Project in Guyana, and it has investments in a number of other minerals projects. Gran Colombia Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TPRFF. The company announced in mid-August financial results for Q2 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. Gran Colombia Gold posted net income of $29.8 million, a significant turnaround from the net loss of $18.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 24.9% year over year (YOY). The increase in revenue was largely driven by the rise in the company's realized gold price.
• Calibre Mining Corp.: Calibre Mining is a Canada-based, multi-asset gold producer with operations in Latin America. The company operates three producing gold mines, all located in Nicaragua: El Limόn, which covers an area of 12,000 hectares; La Libertad, which covers an area of approximately 10,937 hectares; and Pavon, covering an area of 31.5 square kilometers. Calibre also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol CXBMF.
• Equinox Gold Corp.: Equinox Gold is a Canada-based, multi-asset mining company that operates entirely within the Americas. The company has seven operating gold mines throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. It is poised to achieve annual gold production of over one million ounces. Equinox Gold also has shares that trade in the U.S. on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol EQX. The company announced in early August financial results for Q2 FY 2021, the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. Equinox Gold reported net income of $325.7 million, a significant improvement from the net loss of $77.8 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenue expanded 5.1% YOY.
  

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.

^{Source: YCharts}

• Torex Gold Resources Inc.: See above for company description.
• Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.: Agnico Eagle Mines is a Canada-based gold mining company. It has mining and exploration operations in Canada, Finland, and Mexico, and additional exploration operations in the U.S. and Colombia. The company expects to grow its payable gold production from about 1.74 million ounces in 2020 to about 2.15 million ounces in 2024. Agnico Eagle announced in late July financial results for Q2 FY 2021, the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. Net income rose 80.0% on revenue growth of 73.4% compared to the year-ago quarter. The company said that the increase in net income was primarily due to higher sales volumes and higher realized metal prices, as well as lower losses on certain financial instruments.
• Franco-Nevada Corp.: Franco-Nevada is a Canada-based, gold-focused royalty and streaming company. It owns gold and gold equivalent assets located in Canada, the U.S., South America, Central America and Mexico, and a number of other countries. The company also owns mining exploration assets and energy assets. The company also has shares that trade in the U.S. under the ticker symbol FNV.
• Royal Gold Inc.: Royal Gold is a precious metals stream and royalty company. Its primary activity is the acquisition and management of precious metal streams and royalty interests. The company owns a large portfolio of precious metal assets at various stages of development in some of the most prolific gold regions in the world. Its principal assets are in the production stage and are the most significant contributors of revenue to the portfolio. It also has exploration assets. Royal Gold announced in August financial results for Q4 FY 2021, the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. Net and comprehensive income attributable to the company's common stockholders rose 66.6% on revenue growth of 40.1% compared to the year-ago quarter. Both quarterly and annual revenue rose to new records.
• Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.: Wesdome Gold Mines is a Canada-based, mid-tier gold mining company with operations in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Its Eagle River Complex, located in Ontario, is composed of one underground mine and one open pit mine. The company is also actively exploring its Kiena Complex, located in Quebec. Wesdome aims to produce more than 200,000 ounces from its two mining complexes. The company also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol WDOFF.
  

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

^{Source: YCharts}

• New Found Gold Corp.: New Found Gold is a Canada-based mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of resource properties. It is primarily focused on gold properties located in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. The company is currently focused on advancing its 100%-owned Queensway gold project in Newfoundland. New Found Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol NFGFF.
• Rupert Resources Ltd.: Rupert Resources is a Canada-based gold mining company focused on the exploration and production of precious and base metals. The company's main mining operations are located in Finland with a primary focus on the Pahtavaara Project in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. But it also has other properties in central Finland and Canada. Rupert also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol RUPRF.
• Marathon Gold Corp.: Marathon Gold is a Canada-based gold development company. It is working to advance its 100%-owned Valentine Gold Project located in Canada region that is considered one of the top mining areas in the world. The project is an open-pit mining and conventional milling operation with an expected mine life of 13 years, with first production scheduled for 2023. Marathon Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol MGDPF. The company announced in mid-August financial results for Q2 FY 2021, the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. Its net loss widened to CA$3.3 million ($2.6 million) from CA$2.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Marathon Gold said that development on the Valentine Gold Project was continuing to progress.
• Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd.: See above for company description.
• Corvus Gold Inc.: Corvus Gold is a Canada-based junior exploration and development gold company. Its primary focus is in the advancement of its 100%-owned North Bullfrog project, which encompasses 86.6 square kilometers in Nevada. The company's other 100%-owned project is Mother Lode, which encompasses 36.5 square kilometers. Corvus Gold announced in mid-September that it agreed to be acquired by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU) for $370 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

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. While 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.