Top Gold Stocks for January 2022

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 -9.5% over the past 12 months, well below the 26.5% total return of the Russell 1000 Index. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Dec. 31, 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.

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• 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. The company’s principal assets include the El Limon Guajes Mine Complex, composed of open pit and underground mines as well as a processing plant; and the Media Luna Project, an advanced-stage development project. Torex also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TORXF.
• 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. It is poised to achieve annual gold production of over one million ounces. Equinox Gold announced in mid-December that it has agreed to sell its Mercedes Gold-Silver Mine in Mexico to Bear Creek Mining Corp. (BCEKF) for $100 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
• Calibre Mining Corp.: Calibre Mining is a Canada-based, multi-asset gold producer with operations in Latin America. The company operates three producing gold mines, all located in Nicaragua: El Limόn, which covers an area of 12,000 hectares; La Libertad, which covers approximately 10,937 hectares; and Pavon, covering 31.5 square kilometers. Calibre also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol CXBMF. The company announced in mid-November the appointment of David Splett as senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Immediately prior to joining Calibre Mining, Splett was CFO at Elevation Gold Mining Corp. (ELVT.V). He has been a CFO at several companies during a 30-year career in various industries.
• 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 developing a gold property in Bulgaria; and Tsumeb, which owns and operates the company’s concentrate processing facility in Namibia. Dundee Precious Metals also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol DPMLF.
• 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. Argonaut Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol ARNGF.

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.

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• 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. 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. The company also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker FTMNF.
• AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.: AngloGold Ashanti is a South Africa-based gold mining company with operations, projects, and exploration activities spanning nine countries. The company also produces silver and sulphuric acid as byproducts in South America. It is the third largest gold producer globally and the top producer in Africa. The company employs nearly 37,000 people.
• Endeavour Mining PLC: Endeavour Mining is a global gold producer with headquarters in the Cayman Islands. The company is the largest gold producer in West Africa. It operates seven producing assets, including: the Houndé Mine, Boungou Mine, Mana Mine, Karma Mine, and Wahngion in Burkina Faso; the Ity Mine in Côte d’Ivoire; and Sabodala-Massawa in Senegal. The company also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker EDVMF.
• 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 711,000 ounces of gold in 2020. SSR Mining announced in early December that it has agreed to acquire Taiga Gold Corp. (TGGDF), a mineral exploration company focused on gold, for approximately $21 million. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2022.
• OceanaGold Corp.: OceanaGold is an Australia-based multinational gold producer engaged in the development, exploration, and operation of gold properties. The company also produces copper and silver. Its portfolio of operating assets includes: the Didipio Mine in the Philippines; Macraes and Waihi operations in New Zealand; and the Haile Gold Mine in the U.S. OceanaGold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol OCANF. An EPS growth rate could not be calculated for OceanaGold for the table above since the company’s EPS went from negative in the year-ago quarter to positive in the most recent quarter.

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.

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• 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. The company is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Queensway gold project in Newfoundland.
• Gold Fields Ltd.: Gold Fields is a South Africa-based gold mining company. It has nine operating mines located in Australia, Peru, South Africa, and West Africa. The company also has a project in Chile. Gold Fields produced approximately 2.2 million ounces of gold in 2020 and has mineral reserves of approximately 52.1 million ounces of gold.
• 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 nearly 1.4 million ounces of gold since its start-up in 2017. The company announced in early November that it has signed an agreement with Newcrest Mining according to which Newcrest has agreed to acquire all of the remaining shares of Pretium that it does not already own for approximately CA$3.5 billion ($2.8 billion). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
• 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 primary gold-producing operations are its Beta Hunt Mine, the Higginsville Gold Operations, and Spargos Gold Mine. All three operations are located in Australia along the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt. Karora also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol KRRGF. The company reported in early November financial results for Q3 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2021. Net earnings fell 70.3% YOY despite a 15.1% YOY increase in revenue. In the year-ago quarter, Karora’s net earnings benefited from a $36.1 million impairment reversal related to certain mineral properties.
• 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. 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. Marathon Gold also has shares that trade OTC in the U.S. under the ticker symbol MGDPF. The company recently announced the appointment of Julie Robertson to the role of CFO, effective March 7, 2022. Robertson currently is vice president of Finance and Capital Projects for Centerra Gold Inc. (CG.TO).

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed herein are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or adopt any investment strategy. While we believe the information provided herein is reliable, we do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. The views and strategies described in our content may not be suitable for all investors. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, all comments, opinions, and analyses contained within our content are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment, or strategy.

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