Top Gold Stocks for February 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 -8.7% over the past 12 months, well below the 15.0% total return of the Russell 1000 Index. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Jan. 20, 2022.

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, as measured by its P/E ratio in this case, then the stock price may rise faster than that of 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 Limón 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 over-the-counter (OTC) in the U.S. under the ticker symbol TORXF. The company reported a record 468,200 ounces of gold produced at El Limón Guajes in 2021, beating the prior record set in 2019.
• 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. The company reported 210,400 ounces of gold produced in Q4 2021, a quarterly record for Equinox. It produced 602,100 ounces of gold in 2021, 26% higher than 2020 figures.
• 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.
• Calibre Mining Corp.: Calibre Mining is a Canada-based, multi-asset gold producer with operations in North and South America. The company operates several producing gold mines 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. It also operates the Pan Gold Mine, located in Nevada. On Jan. 12, Calibre announced that it had completed the acquisition of Fiore Gold Ltd. Calibre made an aggregate cash payment of roughly CA$10.2 million ($8.1 million). The deal gives Calibre 100% interest in mining operations in Nevada and Washington state, among other areas.
• 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.

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 multimillion-ounce, high-grade gold asset. Initial 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. For Q3 2021, ended Sept. 30, net income more than doubled YOY on surging net revenues. Net income was hurt by derivative losses and other costs.
• 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 sulfuric 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. In mid-January, AngloGold announced that it had completed the acquisition of Corvus Gold Inc. The acquisition consolidates the two companies’ projects in Nevada. The deal values Corvus Gold at CA$570 million (roughly $451 million).
• Victoria Gold Corp.: Victoria Gold is a Canada-based gold mining company. It is 100% owner of the Eagle Gold Mine, the largest gold mine in Yukon history by production. The mine opened in July 2021 and the company anticipates production of 250,000 ounces of gold per year in 2023. Net income for Q3 2021, ended Sept. 30, climbed by 56.0% YOY as revenue rose 48.4%. The company attributed the performance to record production for the quarter.
• 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.

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 past 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.
• Great Bear Resources Ltd.: Great Bear Resources is a Canada-based gold exploration company. It operates the flagship Dixie project in Ontario, which is regarded as one of the largest new gold discoveries in Canada. On Dec. 8, the company announced that Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC) would acquire Great Bear Resources. Great Bear shareholders will receive upfront consideration of approximately CA$1.8 billion ($1.4 billion), as well as contingent value rights of roughly CA$58.2 million ($46.3 million) in aggregate consideration. The acquisition is expected to be completed in Q1 2022.
• Corvus Gold Inc.: Corvus Gold is a Canada-based junior exploration and development gold company. The company’s primary operations include the North Bullfrog project, encompassing 86.6 square kilometers; and Mother Lode, encompassing 36.5 square kilometers. Both projects are located in Nevada. As mentioned, AngloGold Ashanti completed the acquisition of Corvus Gold in January.
• 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 underground mine located in British Columbia in Canada. The company has produced nearly 1.4 million ounces of gold since its startup in 2017.
• Osisko Mining Inc.: Osisko Mining is a Canada-based mineral exploration company which acquires, explores, and develops gold resource properties in Canada. The company has 100% interests in several properties in Quebec: the high-grade Windfall deposit, and claims surrounding the Urban Barry area and nearby Quevillon area.

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. Though 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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