Gold is one of the first known forms of currency and has long been a reputable asset. It has its believers and skeptics among investors, but few would argue against its worth in the overall market, where it acts as a store of value unlike any other asset. No matter your stance on the precious metal, experts agree that gold equities can always add value to a diverse portfolio. Exactly how good of an inflation hedge is gold? That’s debatable, but its consistency in value and overall stability certainly can’t be denied.
Buying and keeping actual gold is a difficult and costly endeavor. For this reason, diversifying into gold stocks is a smart move for individual investors who want exposure to the market. Strong fundamentals and excellent value are indicators of the finest gold stocks, which is what we always try to focus on when looking at precious metals (or any type of investment opportunity, for that matter). It’s helpful when our favorite gold tickers pay dividends, too, because the payouts are usually pretty consistent.
For today’s purposes, I’m looking at gold stocks that, whether engaging more in mining or royalties, are up YTD (some recently hitting 52-week highs) while still boasting upside potential, decent dividends, and strong analyst sentiment. Let’s have a look:
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (OR)
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (OR) focuses on acquiring, mining, and exploring a variety of precious metals, as well as dealing in gold royalties and streaming. OR has a stake in the Malartic mine in Canada. Montreal, Canada, was the birthplace of OR on April 29th, 2014. OR is up YTD by 45.69%, yet still shows a price upside to be had and a 0.65 beta score. OR has a market cap of just over $3 billion and shows TTM revenue of $217 million at $0.35 per share, profiting $149 million via a 68.74% net margin. OR shows very positive YOY growth in revenue (+22.18%), EPS (+192.31%), net income (+205.78%), and net profit margin (+186.56%). For its last two earnings reports, OR exceeded analysts’ EPS projections by wide margins— most recently by 45.75% and by 49.55% the quarter prior. OR has a dividend yield of 0.94%, with a quarterly payout of 5 cents ($0.20/yr) per share. With a 10-day average trading volume of 1.03 million shares, OR has a median price target of $20.06, with a high of $22.33 and a low of $14, representing a potential 27% jump from its current pricing. Analysts also give OR 11 buy ratings and one hold rating.
Franco-Nevada Corp (FNV)
Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) is a Canadian mining, royalty, and streaming firm situated in Toronto, Ontario. FNV was founded in 1986. FNV has a broad portfolio of cash-flow-generating assets centered on the gold industry. The New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange both host stock trading for FNV, which is currently up YTD by 16.07%. FNV, which recently hit a new 52-week high, boasts a 0.29 beta and a market cap nearing $30 billion. FNV has a TTM revenue of $1.71 billion, from which it made $1.14 billion in net income at an EPS of $3.64 per share. For the current quarter, FNV is forecasted to show $336.1 million in sales at 91 cents per share. With a 10-day average trading volume of 543,000+ shares, FNV shows quarterly EPS and revenue growth of 15.06% and 21.65%, respectively. FNV has an annual dividend yield of 0.87%, with a quarterly payout of 35 cents ($1.40/yr) per share. FNV has a median price target of $162.50, with a high of $190 and a low of $127. The high end of this range would represent an almost 20% upside, and analysts are a little split; FNV has 6 buy ratings and 4 hold ratings.
Newmont Corporation (NEM)
Newmont Corporation (NEM) is a well-regarded American gold mining firm. NEM mines more gold than any other mine in the world. NEM has successfully operated gold mines in a large number of countries spanning the globe. William Thompson founded NEM in 1921, and it is based in Denver, Colorado. NEM
isn’t on quite the rally its peers on this list seem to be on and sits at the bottom half of its 52-week range, but the stock is up YTD by 4.66%. While it’s considered undervalued, it comes with an attractive 0.35 beta figure, a market cap of over $39 billion, a forward P/E (price to earnings) ratio of 21.89x, a D/E (debt to equity) percentage of 31.58%, and TTM revenue of $11.57 billion. NEM most recently surpassed Wall Street analysts’ EPS projection by a 24.80% margin and shows $3 billion in operating free cash flow. NEM is forecasted to post $3 billion in sales for the present quarter, with an EPS of $0.53 per share. NEM has an annual dividend yield of 3.24% and a quarterly payout of 40 cents ($1.60/yr) per share. With a 10-day average trading volume of 6.97 million shares, NEM has been assigned a median price target of $60, with a high of $69.31 and a low of $42.61. The high mark of this price range would give NEM a more than 40% price leap, and analysts seem to agree that it is a ticker we should probably already own— hence, perhaps, NEM’s 12 buy ratings and 9 hold ratings.
and then