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 -12.5% over the past 12 months, well below the 36.9% total return of the iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB).1 These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Oct. 26, 2021.
Here are the top five gold stocks with the best value, fastest growth, and most momentum.
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.
Best Value Gold Stocks |
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing P/E Ratio |
Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd. (SBSW) | 14.02 | 10.1 | 3.4 |
Torex Gold Resources Inc. (TXG.TO) | CA$14.88 | CA$1.3 | 3.8 |
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (GCM.TO) | CA$5.30 | CA$0.5 | 3.8 |
Calibre Mining Corp. (CXB.TO) | CA$1.59 | CA$0.5 | 5.1 |
Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX.TO) | CA$9.96 | CA$3.0 | 5.5 |
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 has also recently invested in a lithium hydroxide project in Finland.2 Sibanye-Stillwater 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.3 The company recently announced that it has agreed to acquire 100% of both the Santa Rita nickel mine and the Serrote copper mine, located in Brazil for $1.0 billion in cash as well as a 5.0% net smelter return royalty covering potential future underground production at Santa Rita. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2021.4
- 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.5 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.6 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.7 Gran Colombia Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TPRFF.
- Calibre Mining Corp.: Calibre Mining is a Canada-based, multi-asset gold producer with operations in Latin America.8 The company operates three producing gold mines, all located in Nicaragua: El Limn, 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.9 Calibre also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol CXBMF. The company recently announced that it has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fiore Gold Ltd. (TSXV:F.V; OTC:FIOGF), a gold producer with operations in the U.S., for an implied consideration value of CA$1.80 ($1.45) per Fiore common share. The transaction is expected to close in January 2022.1011
- Equinox Gold Corp.: Equinox Gold is a Canada-based, multi-asset mining company that operates entirely within the Americas. The company has seven operating gold mines throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil.12 It is poised to achieve annual gold production of over one million ounces.13 Equinox Gold also has shares that trade in the U.S. on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol EQX.
These are the top gold stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and most recent quarterly YOY earnings per share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore, ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one figure or the other unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of more than 2,500% were excluded as outliers.
Fastest Growing Gold Stocks |
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | EPS Growth (%) | Revenue Growth (%) |
Torex Gold Resources Inc. (TXG.TO) | CA$14.88 | CA$1.3 | 1,430 | 67.2 |
Lundin Gold Inc. (LUG.TO) | CA$11.83 | CA$2.8 | N/A | 1,360 |
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (WDO.TO) | CA$11.41 | CA$1.6 | 463.3 | 16.6 |
Calibre Mining Corp. (CXB.TO) | CA$1.59 | CA$0.5 | N/A | 338.7 |
SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM.TO) | CA$20.49 | CA$4.4 | N/A | 261.1 |
Source: YCharts
- Torex Gold Resources Inc.: See above for company description.
- Lundin Gold Inc.: Lundin Gold is a Canada-based mining company. It owns the underground Fruta del Norte gold mine in southeast Ecuador, a multi-million-ounce, high-grade gold asset.14 First gold production at the mine began in November 2019 and the company expects to produce an average of 340,000 ounces of gold per year.15 The company also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker FTMNF. An EPS growth rate could not be calculated for Lundin Gold in the table above as the company did not report an EPS figure for the year-ago quarter due to production being suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.16
- 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.17 The company also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol WDOFF. Wesdome Gold Mines announced in August financial results for Q2 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. The company's net income and total comprehensive income rose more than five times on revenue growth of 16.6% compared to the year-ago quarter. Net income was boosted primarily by two one-time items: a pre-tax impairment reversal charge and an after-tax gain on the disposal of the company's Moss Lake mineral properties.1018
- Calibre Mining Corp.: See above for company description. An EPS growth rate could not be calculated for Calibre Mining in the table above because its EPS went from negative in the year-ago quarter to positive in the most recent quarter.19
- SSR Mining Inc.: SSR Mining is a Canada-based intermediate gold mining company that operates four producing assets located in the U.S., Turkey, Canada, and Argentina, as well as development and exploration assets in the U.S., Turkey, Mexico, Peru, and Canada. The company's four operating assets produced more than 720,000 ounces of gold and 7.7 million ounces of silver in 2019.20 SSR Mining also has shares that trade in the U.S. on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SSRM. An EPS growth rate could not be calculated for SSR Mining in the table above because its EPS went from negative in the year-ago quarter to positive in the most recent quarter.21
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.
Gold Stocks with the Most Momentum |
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%) |
New Found Gold Corp. (NFG.V) | CA$10.69 | CA$1.7 | 269.9 |
Marathon Gold Corp. (MOZ.TO) | CA$3.07 | CA$0.7 | 35.2 |
Argonaut Gold Inc. (AR.TO) | CA$3.42 | CA$1.1 | 33.1 |
Corvus Gold Inc. (KOR) | CA$4.04 | CA$0.5 | 29.5 |
Karora Resources Inc. (KRR.TO) | CA$4.37 | CA$0.6 | 25.2 |
iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) | N/A | N/A | 36.9 |
VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) | N/A | N/A | -12.5 |
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.22 The company is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Queensway gold project in Newfoundland.23 New Found Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol NFGFF.
- 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 a Canadian region that is considered one of the top mining areas in the world.24 The project is an open-pit mining and conventional milling operation with an expected mine life of 13 years, with first production scheduled for 2023.2526 Marathon Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol MGDPF.
- Argonaut Gold Inc.: Argonaut Gold is a Canada-based gold company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of gold. Its primary assets include: the Mexico-based El Castillo Complex, comprised of the El Castillo and San Agustin mines; the La Colorada mine, also located in Mexico; and the Florida Canyon mine in the U.S. The company's advanced exploration projects include the Cerro del Gallo and Ana Paula projects in Mexico, the Magino project in Canada, and a number of other projects throughout North America.27 Argonaut Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol ARNGF. The company announced in mid-October that its subsidiary, Minera Real Del Oro S.A. de C.V., has acquired key mineral concessions surrounding its San Agustin Mine from Fresnillo PLC (OTC:FNLPF) for approximately $5.8 million. The mineral concessions acquired by Argonaut sharply increase its area of potential exploration in the San Agustin district.28
- 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.29 Corvus Gold announced in mid-September that it agreed to be acquired by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU) for $370 million. Under the agreement, AngloGold Ashanti will buy 80.5% of the remaining shares of Corvus Gold that it doesn't already own. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.30
- 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.31 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 Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt.32 Karora also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol KRRGF. Karora announced in mid-October that it achieved record gold production of 30,365 ounces in Q3 FY 2021. The company sold 28,935 ounces during the quarter.33