- Gold is up nearly 10% since Coronavirus deaths spread beyond China.
- Yellow metal stocks present the best of both worlds – capital gains and dividends.
- As the wider market tanked, precious metal stocks surged.
A spike in coronavirus cases outside China has raised fears that the pneumonia-like illness could turn into an uncontrollable global pandemic. Gold prices have consequently surged to a seven-year high. The yellow metal is widely viewed as a safe haven that typically rises when there’s negative sentiment surrounding global economic health.
Since the beginning of the month when the first coronavirus-related death was reported outside China in the Philippines, gold has spiked by nearly 10%.
Gold stocks – the best of both worlds
Other than the price growth, gold boasts of no other returns. Investing in gold stocks can compensate for this perceived shortcoming. With gold stocks investors receive capital gains as bullion prices rise as well as dividends from particular companies.
Here are three gold stocks that Wall Street has rated favorably.
Kinross Gold Corp.
Among Wall Street analysts, the Canadian-based Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE:KGC) commands a consensus rating of Overweight. None of the analysts covering the stock have issued a Sell rating. Hitting the highest price target of $7.54 from the current $5.96 would give investors a 26% gain.
Kinross expects to produce 2.4 million ounces of gold in 2020 at lower costs relative to last year. Record-low costs in 2019 led the firm to more than triple its adjusted net earnings.
In 2020, Kinross expects to continue its “strong performance,” according to the CEO J. Paul Rollinson.
In pre-market hours, Kinross was up by nearly 7% despite a wider market plunge over the coronavirus outbreak.
Barrick Gold Corp.
Toronto-based Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) boasts a consensus rating of Overweight among Wall Street analysts. The stock closed Friday’s trading at $21.44 and would enjoy a 19% gain if the highest price target of $25.58 is hit.
Earlier this month Barrick announced that it was changing its dividend policy and increasing payouts by 40%. This came on the back of 2019 results that saw net earnings per share increase 46%.
In pre-market trading, Barrick Gold spiked over 5%.
Newmont Corp.
Out of 20 Wall Street analysts covering the Colorado-based Newmont Corp. (NYSE:NEM), 65% have issued a Buy rating on the stock. The consensus rating for Newmont is Overweight with the highest price target being $58. As the stock closed Friday at $49.44, that represents an upside potential of 17% if the projection is realized.
Newmont’s 2019 results saw company revenues rise 34%. This was attributed to new production as well as higher gold prices. Newmont returned $1.4 billion to shareholders in 2019 via dividends and buybacks.
In pre-market trading NEM stock was up 5.2%.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com. The above should not be considered trading advice from CCN.com.
This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.
Last modified: February 24, 2020 5:43 PM UTC
