Top Silver Stocks for Q2 2020

Silver stocks are driven by the metal's use in a wide range of industrial processes along with its traditional role, like gold, 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 lagged slightly behind the S&P 500 Index, posting a 12-month total return of -13.9%, compared to -13.3% for the S&P. All numbers are as of March 19, 2020.

All the silver companies in this report 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 January 13 was approximately $0.70 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.

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.

Source: YCharts

• Silvercorp Metals Inc.: Silvercorp's operations are in China, where it has become the leading producer of silver, as well as a major extractor of lead, zinc, and gold. On March 17, Silvercorp announced a share repurchase program to acquire up to approximately 8.7 million shares, or about 5% of all outstanding shares.
• Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.: Fortuna Silver Mines' major operations are in Peru, Mexico, and Argentina. The company mines silver as well as other precious metals.
• Pan American Silver Corp.: Founded in 1994, Pan American is the second-largest primary silver mining company in the world, with operations in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Following a state of emergency declaration in response to COVID-19 by the Peruvian government, Pan American announced in mid-March the temporary suspension of all operations at its four mines in Peru.

Here are the silver 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

• Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.: Wheaton Precious Metals is one of the largest precious metals streaming companies in the world, with agreements to purchase all or part of the output of nearly two dozen operating gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt mines.
• Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.: See company description above.
• First Majestic Silver Corp.: First Majestic owns 100% of six producing mines in Mexico. On March 18, First Majestic announced that it would renew its share repurchase program for an additional 12 months. The company intends to repurchase up to 10 million shares, or about 4.8% of outstanding shares.

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

Source: YCharts

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