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Buy the Gold Mining Stocks Right Now

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  • (1:00) - Where Should Investors Be Looking To Gain Exposure To Gold Right Now
  • (6:50) - These ETF’s Can Help You Invest Into Gold
  • (15:40) - Individual Stocks To Keep On Your Radar For Gold Investing
  • (30:30) - Episode Roundup: GDX, SGDM, RING, AEM, HMY, NEM, B
  •                 Podcast@Zacks.com

 

Welcome to Episode #455 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.

Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds, and ETFs and how it impacts your life.

This week, Tracey is joined by Zacks Director of ETF Research, Neena Mishra, to discuss gold’s breakout to new all-time highs and how investors can get in it.

The gold miners have mostly reported their second quarter earnings. Most had fantastic quarters with record free cash flow and, in some cases, earnings.

Should you buy an ETF which owns a basket of gold miners, or should you buy individual gold mining stocks?  

Should You Buy a Gold Miner ETF like GDX?

For several decades the flagship gold miner ETF has been the VanEck Gold Miner ETF (GDX - Free Report) .

GDX’s two largest holdings are Newmont Corp. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., which are the two largest gold mining companies in the world. Combined, they make up about 26.1% of the entire ETF.

Shares of GDX are up 70.9% year-to-date as many gold miners hit new highs.

It has an expense ratio of 0.51%, however. That’s among the highest of the gold mining ETFs for expense ratios.

RING Has the Lowest Expense Ratio of the Gold Miner ETFs

If you are looking for a lower expense ratio, you might want to consider iShares Gold Miner ETF (RING - Free Report) . It’s two largest holdings are also Newmont Corp. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., but they make up 31.1% of the total portfolio, up from GDX’s 26.1%.

That makes RING more concentrated. Investors should ask themselves if they want to be that heavily weighted in just two miners. RING also trades on lower volume than GDX.

If you want to just buy a few gold miners and create your own ETF, so to speak, then several gold miners have the coveted Zacks Rank of Strong Buy right now.

3 Strong Buy Gold Miners to Buy Now

1. Newmont Corp. (NEM - Free Report)

Newmont is a US-based gold miner with a market cap of $75.3 billion. It’s a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), the highest of the Zacks Ranks.

Newmont is expected to grow earnings by 51.4% this year. It’s cheap, with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of just 13. A P/E under 15 usually designates value.

In the second quarter, Newmont had free cash flow of $1.7 billion. It raised its share buyback program to $3 billion. Newmont also pays a dividend of $1.00 a share annually, which is yielding 1.5%.

Should investors put Newmont at the top of their short lists?

2. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM - Free Report)

Agnico Eagle Mines is a large cap Canadian gold miner with a market cap of $67.2 billion. Shares have busted out to new 5-year highs this year, gaining 68.8% year-to-date. Agnico Eagle is still attractively priced, with a forward P/E of 19.5.

Agnico Eagle Mines saw record free cash flow in the second quarter of $1.305 billion. It is paying down debt with some of the cash and pays a dividend, which is yielding 1.2%.

Agnico Eagle Mines is also a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Should gold investors look to Agnico Eagle Mines if they want to own an individual gold mining stock?

3. Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HMY - Free Report)

Harmony Gold Mining is a South African gold miner with a market cap of $9.8 billion. That makes it considerably smaller than Newmont or Agnico Eagle.

Harmony Gold hasn’t reported its results yet. But in June Harmony confirmed annual production and cost guidance for FY 2025. Harmony is dirt cheap. It trades with a forward P/E of just 5.4. A P/E under 10 is considered to be extremely cheap.

Earnings are expected to rise 33.7% this fiscal year. Harmony is paying a dividend which is currently yielding 1.2%.

Harmony Gold Mining is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) too.

Should Harmony Gold Mining be on your short list?

What Else Do You Need to Know About the Gold Miner ETFs and Stocks?

Tune into this week’s podcast to find out.

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