Top Gold Stocks for March 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 mining companies Canada-based Franco Nevada Corp. (FNV), Newmont Corp. (NEM), and Australia-based Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM).

Gold stocks, as represented by the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), have underperformed the broader market over the past year. GDX has provided a total return of 10.6% over the past 12 months, below the Russell 1000's total return of 20.5%, as of February 19, 2021. All statistics in the tables below are as of February 19.

Here are the top 5 gold stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.

Best Value Gold Stocks

Value investing is a factor-based investing strategy in which you pick 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 ratio (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, 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 price-to-earnings (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 group metal operations in the U.S. and South Africa, gold operations and projects in South Africa, and copper, gold, and platinum group metal exploration properties in North and South America. The company is the largest primary producer of platinum, second largest primary producer of palladium, and ranks third among global gold producers on a gold-equivalent basis.
• Dundee Precious Metals Inc.: Dundee Precious Metals is a Canada-based international mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining, and processing of precious metal properties. The company owns three principal subsidiaries: Chelopech, which owns and operates a gold, copper, and silver mine in Bulgaria; Krumovgrad, which is focused on the development of a gold property in Bulgaria; and Tsumeb, which owns and operates the company's concentrate processing facility in Namibia. Dundee announced financial results that broke new records in its 2020 fiscal year (FY), ended December 31, 2020. The company posted net earnings of $199.1 million, a significant improvement from the net loss of $66.6 million in FY 2019. Annual revenue rose 50.7%.
• Kinross Gold Corp.: Kinross Gold is a Canada-based gold mining company with a diverse portfolio of mines and projects in the U.S., Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Mauritania, and Russia. The company employs approximately 9,000 people globally. The company has approximately 30.0 million gold ounces of proven and probable gold reserves, as of December 31, 2020. Kinross recently reported full-year financial results for FY 2020, which ended December 31, 2020. The company's annual net earnings rose 89.5% as annual revenue grew 20.5% compared to FY 2019.
• B2Gold Corp.: B2Gold is a Canada-based senior gold producer. It operates gold mines, and exploration and development projects in various countries, including the Philippines, Namibia, Mali, and Colombia. The company projects that its consolidated gold production for 2020 will be around 1.0 million ounces.
• Karora Resources Inc.: Karora Resources is a Canada-based, multi-asset mineral resource company primarily focused on the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of precious metal properties. The company's two primary gold producing operations are its Beta Hunt Mine and the Higginsville Gold Operations. Both operations are located in Australia along the prolific Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt.

Fastest Growing Gold Stocks

Growth investing is a factor-based investing strategy in which you invest in businesses that you believe will grow significantly faster than the market as a whole. There are different growth metrics, but one of the most widely used is growth in profits, as measured by earnings per share (EPS). Growth investors believe that if a company consistently grows profits faster than the market as a whole, its stock price will rise as investors seek to get a share of future profits. These are the stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) EPS growth for the most recent quarter.

Source: YCharts

• Jaguar Mining Inc.: Jaguar is a Canada-based mining company that explores and develops gold properties. The company operates in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt located in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Iron Quadrangle has been a center of mineral exploration dating back to the 16th century. Jaguar’s gold mining operations include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex and the Caeté Complex.
• Eldorado Gold Corp.: Eldorado Gold is a Canada-based, mid-tier gold and base metals producer. It has more than 25 years of experience building and operating mines in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company currently operates two gold mines in Turkey, two polymetallic mines in Greece, a gold mine in Canada, and has other development projects in other regions. Eldorado announced in January that it agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of QMX Gold Corp. (QMX) for approximately $105 million (CA$132 million). QMX is a Canada-based resource company.
• Pretium Resources Inc.: Pretium Resources is a Canada-based intermediate gold producer. Its primary operations are located at its 100% owned Brucejack Mine, a high-grade gold underground mine located in Canada. The company has produced more than 1.1 million ounces of gold since its start-up in 2017. Pretium announced on February 11 that a COVID-19 outbreak at the Brucejack Mine had been declared by public health officials, spurring the implemention of enhanced outbreak protocols, including travel restrictions to and from the mine's camp. Though travel restrictions have been lifted, the company is assessing the potential impact of the outbreak on its operations as virus protocols and procedures remain in place.
• B2Gold Corp.: See company description above.
• Yamana Gold Inc.: Yamana Gold is a Canada-based mining company that develops and explores gold and silver properties. The company operates five mines throughout the Americas: El Peñón, an optimized high-grade underground mine with a strong track record of exploration success; Jacobina, an underground mine complex that has more than doubled production since 2014; Canadian Malartic, a large underground mining project with decades of potential opportunities; Minera Florida, an established underground mine in transition to newer high-grade zones; and Cerro Moro, a high-grade underground and open-pit mine with exploration upside for future growth.

Gold Stocks with the Most Momentum

Momentum investing is a factor-based investing strategy in which you invest in a stock whose price has risen faster than the market as a whole. Momentum investors believe that stocks which 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

• Jaguar Mining Inc.: See above for company description.
• Artemis Gold Inc.: Artemis Gold is a Canada-based developer of gold mining properties. The company's primary focus is on advancing to the construction phase of the Blackwater Gold Project in the Canadian province of British Columbia. With over 10 million ounces of gold in resources, the project has the potential to become one of the largest gold mines in Canada. Artemis announced on January 6 the appointment of Jeremy Langford to the role of chief operating officer (COO).
• Pure Gold Mining Inc.: Pure Gold Mining is a Canada-based gold exploration and development company. It owns 47 square kilometers in the high-grade gold district of Red Lake, located in the Canadian province of Ontario. The company's PureGold Mine has indicated gold resources of 2.1 million ounces.  The company announced at the end of December that it had poured its first gold at its PureGold Mine on December 29, 2020, following the introduction of ore to the mill two weeks earlier. The company said that with the commencement of production at the mine, its activities would now be focused on optimizing operations.
• Orla Mining Ltd.: Orla Mining is a Canada-based mineral exploration company. The company has two main projects: Camino Rojo, located in Mexico with 1.6 million ounces of gold proven and probable mineral reserves; and Cerro Quema, located in Panama with 0.5 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves.
• Premier Gold Mines Ltd.: Premier Gold Mines is a Canada-based mining and exploration company focused on the development of gold projects across the globe. The company is working on a portfolio of eight projects, including two operating mines, two advanced exploration and development stage projects, and a pipeline of four exploration properties. Premier Gold Mines announced its production totals for full-year FY 2020 in January. The company produced 58,443 ounces of gold and 170,457 ounces of silver during the year.

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