5 of the Best Gold Stocks to Buy Now
Many investors are turning to gold stocks to stabilize their portfolios and mitigate the devastating effects of inflation and global turmoil. Gold and stocks tied to it have long been considered safe havens because they often retain value or go up during times of market instability. In this sense, gold stocks can act as a hedge against volatility and the depreciation other assets might experience.
Gold-related investments can enhance diversification by adding another asset class to a portfolio. Gold is particularly useful in this area because it has a fairly low correlation with stocks and other more traditional investments. In short, adding gold stocks to a portfolio can help reduce overall risk.
That said, gold prices are currently near all-time highs. Generally speaking, buying at the top of the market is not a good idea, says Rick Miller, financial planner and investment advisor at Miller Investment Management.
“However, because gold is so useful as both an economic and market hedge, those investors lacking gold in their portfolios could initiate a buying-in process a little at a time,” he says.
He recommends keeping your gold investments to no more than 5% of your overall portfolio and diversifying with gold mining stocks, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and 1 ounce gold bars to spread your risk.
Here’s a list of the best gold stocks, along with one ETF, to buy and hold today:
*A measure of an asset’s risk compared to a benchmark. A beta higher than 1 typically carries more risk along with higher returns. A stock with a beta lower than 1 tends to carry less risk and lower returns.
**Denotes assets under management for this ETF.
Barrick Mining Corp. (B)
Barrick Mining is active in copper and silver mining, but most of the company’s revenue and earnings come from gold. Its operations span 18 countries across five continents.
In straightforward terms, Barrick owns one of the world’s largest and most prized portfolios of top-quality gold and copper assets in the world. The company produced nearly 4 million ounces of gold in 2024, translating into over $2.1 billion in earnings.
The stock has a forward dividend yield of just over 2%. All serious gold stock investors should consider making Barrick a core, long-term holding.
B2Gold Corp. (BTG)
Gold investors focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, this may be the stock for you. Canadian mining company B2Gold focuses on responsible mining that aims to protect the people and environment where it operates. It produces annual ESG and sustainability reports so investors can monitor this impact.
The company operates gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines. It also has a new project under construction in northern Canada, plus exploration projections in various countries. These mines produced over 800,000 ounces of gold and nearly $2 billion in gold revenue in 2024.
While it’s a smaller operation than Barrick Mining, this pure gold-mining play has much to offer, including a forward dividend yield of 2.7%.
Newmont Corp. (NEM)
Newmont is one of the world’s largest gold companies. Like Barrick, it also produces other precious metals. For NEM, these include copper, silver, zinc and lead. Its portfolio spans the globe from Africa and Australia to South and North America. It also holds the distinction of being included in the S&P 500 Index.
The company produced 6.8 million ounces of gold in 2024, with total revenue across all products and regions of nearly $18.7 billion for the year. As robust of a gold producer as NEM is, investors should be wary of the stock’s low trading volume. This can make it harder to sell shares at a fair price, and may increase the spread between what buyers are willing to pay and sellers are willing to accept. It also has a lower forward dividend yield than other stocks on this list at 1.85%.
Caledonia Mining Corp. PLC (CMCL)
Caledonia is a Zimbabwe-focused mining company with stakes in four projects within the country. It also strives to maintain high sustainability practices, such as by building a solar plant at one of its projects. The plant now supplies around one-fifth of the mine’s daily electricity demand.
CMCL is a smaller company than others on this list, as reflected by its market cap of under $300 million. But small isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The company produced record gross profit in 2024 of $77 million, up 86% from 2023. This is largely due to the higher price of gold but also thanks to lower production costs at one of its development projects.
Investors can also appreciate the 4% forward dividend yield and lower risk of this stock relative to its peers.
SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD)
GLD is an asset-backed ETF with a simple objective: to mirror the performance of gold bullion less the fund’s moderate expense ratio of 0.4%.
Pure gold is the only asset in this fund’s portfolio. In that sense, this ETF is as close to a pure play on gold as you can get without buying and storing the precious metal yourself.
Of course, GLD will carry the same risks as owning physical gold, but because it’s an ETF, it’s a flexible security that can be bought and sold on any business day. Investors can also use limit or stop orders, and even sell shares short if they think gold is heading down.
The bottom line on GLD is that it’s a simple and convenient way to gain direct exposure to the gold market. Some investors may choose to buy gold bullion, bars or coins directly. That is a personal decision that depends on your situation and resources. Most people, however, don’t have the space and security to store physical gold, and buying and selling metals comes with high transaction costs. For the average investor who wants to profit from the gold market, GLD is the better choice.
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