Top Silver Stocks for Q4 2020

Silver stocks are driven by the metal's use in a wide range of industrial processes and its popularity as a safe haven asset. Silver stocks, which are primarily mining companies, also are driven by the yield on bank CDs or Treasury bonds. As reflected by the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), the group has significantly outperformed the broader market, posting a 12-month total return of 69.3%, compared to 16.2% for the Russell 1000 as of September 15. All other numbers below are as of September 16, 2020.

All silver companies in this story are headquartered in Canada and their primary trading venue is the Toronto Stock Exchange, but they also trade on U.S. exchanges. The Toronto ticker symbols are listed in the tables below. All figures are quoted in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate on September 16 was approximately $0.76 U.S. to each $1.00 Canadian. 

Below, we'll take a look at the top silver stocks in terms of best value, fastest growth, and most momentum.

Silver Stocks with the Best Value

Here are the silver stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in the sector. 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. Only two stocks are listed below because all others in our screen had negative 12-month trailing earnings.

Source: YCharts

• Silvercorp Metals Inc.: Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Silvercorp's operations are located in China, where it has become a leading producer of silver, as well as a major extractor of lead, zinc, and gold. On August 31, the company reported the results of an independent technical report that determined sharp increases of 18% and 109% in measured and indicated silver and gold resources in its Ying mining property, respectively. By this measure, this property could remain a viable mining complex through 2040.
• Pan American Silver Corp.: Pan American one of the largest primary silver mining companies in the world, with operations in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. As of June 30, the company held proven and probably mineral reserves across its mining properties of 550 million ounces of silver and 5.2 million ounces of gold.

Silver Stocks with the Fastest Earnings Growth

Here are the silver stocks with the best year-over-year (YOY) earnings per share (EPS) performance for the most recent quarter. Rising earnings show that a company’s business is growing and is generating more money than it can reinvest or return to shareholders. Only two of the stocks surveyed made a profit in the latest quarter. All other silver stocks we looked at reported negative earnings for that period.

Source: YCharts

• Silvercorp Metals Inc.: See company description above.
• Pan American Silver Corp.: See company description above.

Silver Stocks with the Most Momentum

These are the silver stocks that had the greatest total return over the past 12 months.

Source: YCharts

• Pan American Silver Corp.: See company description above.
• Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.: Fortuna Silver Mines is a Vancouver-based precious metals producer including of silver and gold. Its major operations are in Peru, Mexico, and Argentina. In its Q2 report released in August, Fortuna said that had maintained free cash flow from ongoing operations during the quarter, despite of a net loss of $5.7 million. Sales declined by 34.5% YOY. The company attributed these figures to "unprecedented volatility and government mandated shutdowns" of some of its operations due to COVID-19.
• Silvercorp Metals Inc.: See company description above.