Times of crisis = gold rally

In fact, we have had 2 crisis this past year leading people to gold. First was the China Trade concerns of late 2019. Second, is the new Coronavirus crisis that is only building speed at this time.

So yes, an investment in gold makes sense. But why go for physical gold when you could instead go for the miners who usually see 2-3X more upside than the metal itself?

With that in mind I wanted to share with you the 3 top gold mining stocks at this time according to the POWR Ratings system. All of them are currently sport A (Strong Buy) ratings.

Read below for details on what makes each of these gold mining stocks attractive:

Newmont Gold (NEM)

NEM is undoubtedly one of the best safe havens to park your money amidst global economic uncertainty. As the largest gold mining stock based on market capitalization, NEM provides a bit more stability than the smaller mining operations. Yet it still packs plenty of punch as can be seen by the 19% gain year to date.

Another part of NEM’s appeal is the fact that the company has more gold mineral reserves than the competition. NEM closed 2019 with more than 100 million ounces of the precious metal in its reserves. This figure is notable not just because it outpaces the competition but also because it is more than a 50% spike above the 65 million ounces the company had at the end of ’18. The most recent earnings beat is a loud and clear statement that the company is on track to continue to deliver serious growth for investors. And that should translate into more share price gains.

Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV)

FNV is a royalty/stream business with operations in North America, South America, Africa and Australia. FNV has enjoyed tremendous improvements in earnings projections that Zacks has raised its rank in their earnings based model to a Buy.

While most other gold mining businesses have a projected earnings growth rate well below 20%, FNV’s expected earnings growth rate is a whopping 47.9%. This strength should help FNV emerge as the top gold stock to own in 2020 and beyond as the global economy braces for a worldwide recession triggered by the Coronavirus. This explains the 17% gain for FNV so far this year. But don’t think its just recently an attractive stock. It has actually gained 107% the past 3 years and 167% the past 5 years. This track record of success bodes well new investments in FNV.

DRDGOLD Limited (DRD)

DRD is a much smaller mining operation than NEM. But as they say, good things come in small packages which is why DRD has rallied 50% on the year. A big reason why is their expected 2020 earnings growth rate in excess of 100%.

On top of the attractive earnings growth you also get an impressive 3% dividend yield. Given the strength of gold prices they should be able to raise that in the years ahead to attract more investors to DRD shares.

The main point with a junior minor like DRD, if you feel confident that gold prices will stay aloft, then you will see outsized returns. Just remember that the larger reward comes with larger risk just in case gold prices go lower.

Want more great stock picks? Then check out these additional resources:

Ratings on All Gold Mining Stocks

About POWR Ratings

Reitmeister Total Return portfolio

NEM shares rose $0.22 (+0.42%) in premarket trading Friday. Year-to-date, NEM has gained 20.13%, versus a -9.39% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Steve Reitmeister

Steve is better known to the StockNews audience as “Reity”. Not only is he the CEO of the firm, but he also shares his 40 years of investment experience in the Reitmeister Total Return portfolio. Learn more about Reity’s background, along with links to his most recent articles and stock picks. More...

More Resources for the Stocks in this Article