In this article, we will take a look at the 12 Best Gold Dividend Stocks To Buy Now. To see more companies, go directly to 5 Best Gold Dividend Stocks To Buy Now.
Gold recently jumped to record highs and the precious metal is on track to see its best annual performance since 2020. Investors are piling into gold and gold stocks like Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM), Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) and Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) amid several factors, including expectations that the Fed might start cutting interest rates in 2024, a decline in real yields and weakening dollar. But the underlying factor fueling the popularity of gold remains constant: investors are buying gold amid uncertainty about the future path of economy. While the US economy was able to avoid a recession in 2023, what lies ahead is still up for debate. A latest Wall Street Journal report cited Nicky Shiels, metals strategist at MKS PAMP, who said that gold has become a “proxy” for the Federal Reserve’s rate cut expectations and “general unhappiness.”
Another important catalyst for gold prices is rising interest in the precious metal from central banks. Central banks around the world bought a whopping 1,100 metric tons of gold this year, which account for about 30% of the world’s mining production.
Perhaps one of the biggest catalysts for gold prices in 2023 was geopolitical instability, caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East. Gold is a highly sought-after asset and investors flock to it during times of geopolitical tensions.
“In this scenario the Federal Reserve reacts to the recession warning signs and pivots away from its higher for longer mantra. If the US central bank signals it will begin monetary expansion in 2024 by end of 2023, bond yields will be falling and assuming it moves before the European Central Bank and other major central banks, we could see the US Dollar depreciate at a faster rate. If recession does materialise, we expect inflation will fall below target levels. Assuming that the recession fears that the Fed is responding to are real, we expect positioning in gold futures to remain elevated. In this scenario, gold could reach US$2,300/oz. That would be 12% higher than the all-time nominal high reached in August 2020, and about 7% below that in real terms. However, it would be 33% below the all-time real high reached in 1980.”
Methodology
Dividends and gold is a match made in heaven for risk-averse investors. Amid uncertainty about the future and the constant need to hedge against inflation and risks, now is the right time to see which gold stocks that also pay dividends are on the radar of smart money investors. We scanned Insider Monkey's database of 910 hedge funds and picked 12 gold stocks that pay dividends with the highest number of hedge fund investors
SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRM) ranks 12th in our list of the best gold dividend stocks to buy according to hedge funds. The stock’s dividend yield is about 2.4%. Last month, SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRM) posted Q3 results. Adjusted EPS in the period came in at $0.26. Revenue in the quarter jumped about 131% year over year to $385.39 million.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 14 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRM).
Sibanye Stillwater Limited (NYSE:SBSW) is a high dividend yield stock in our list of the best gold dividend stocks to buy according to hedge funds. Last month, Sibanye Stillwater Limited (NYSE:SBSW) revealed plans to restructure its U.S. platinum group metals operations to reduce costs. As part of the plan, Sibanye Stillwater Limited (NYSE:SBSW) eyes cutting 300 jobs.
A total of 16 hedge funds out of the 910 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Sibayne Stillwater. The most notable stakeholder of Sibanye Stillwater Limited (NYSE:SBSW) was Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, which owns a $31 million stake in the company.
Canadian-based Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (NYSE:OR) owns royalties in gold, silver and diamond mines. Last month, Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (NYSE:OR) declared a quarterly dividend of CAD 0.06/share quarterly dividend, in line with the previous.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 18 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 910 funds were long OR. The most significant stake in Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (NYSE:OR) belongs to Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, which owns a $104 million stake in Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (NYSE:OR).
Another Canadian mining company on our list, B2Gold Corp (NYSE:BTG) in September said it agreed to buy AngloGold Ashanti's (AU) 50% stake in the Gramalote project in Colombia for as much as $60 million. B2Gold Corp (NYSE:BTG) will have full ownership of the project after this deal.
Out of the 910 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database, 19 hedge funds reported owning stakes in B2Gold as of the end of the September quarter. The biggest stakeholder of B2Gold Corp (NYSE:BTG) was John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors which owns a $34 million stake in B2Gold Corp (NYSE:BTG).
Like BTG, hedge funds are also piling into Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM), Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) and Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC).
Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) operates gold and silver mines in the Americas.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 22 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS). The biggest stakeholder in Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) was David Greenspan’s Slate Path Capital, which owns a $76 million stake in Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS).
Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) talked about its guidance and business updates during Q3 earnings call:
"Given year-to-date production and our outlook for the next two months, we are reaffirming our annual 2023 guidance ranges for silver and gold production with the expectation that production for both will come in at the low end of the ranges. We expect the gold segment cash costs and all-in sustaining costs to be within our guidance ranges from 2023. We expect silver segment cash costs and all-in sustaining costs to be marginally above our guidance range largely due to ventilation constraints at La Colorada I mentioned earlier, and the two weeks expansion of operations at that mine in early October to address security concerns as previously disclosed. We are maintaining our 2023 guidance for base metal production and sustaining and project capital expenditures as well.
With a dividend yield of 1.32% as of December 5, Royal Gold, Inc. (NYSE:RGLD) is a Colorado-based precious metal streaming and royalties company. Last month, Royal Gold, Inc. (NYSE:RGLD) upped its dividend by 6.7%. The new dividend is payable on January 19.
A total of 23 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey entered the fourth quarter of 2023 with RGLD shares in their portfolios. The biggest stakeholder of the Royal Gold, Inc. (NYSE:RGLD) was Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management, which owns a $386 million stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NYSE:RGLD).
The company during its Q3 earnings call talked about several project updates and future plans:
For 2024, Centerra expects higher levels of gold and similar levels of copper production compared to 2023 guidance levels. Also at Mount Milligan, Centerra has launched an asset optimization review to assess productivity and cost efficiency opportunities alongside mine optimization. And their goal is to drive incremental operational improvements. We expect the review to be completed in 2024.
Yet another Canadian company on our list, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) has a dividend yield of 1.23%. As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 24 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Wheaton Precious Metals. The biggest stakeholder of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) was Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management, which owns an $851 million stake in the company.
Last month, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) posted third quarter results. Adjusted EPS in the period came in at $0.268. Revenue in the quarter jumped about 2% year over year to $223.14 million, missing estimates by $25.29 million.
The company's CEO Randy Smallwood talked about the company's dividend policy while answering a question during Q3 earnings call:
And so we’ve always been about the money, if it’s not going into accretive new acquisitions, it’s going to go back to the shareholders. And we’ve got good strong cash flows. We’re seeing outperformance in a number of other assets. And so we’re falling into our guidance range. We’re comfortable with our year guidance, 2023 guidance. And so I don’t think — to be honest, I think that the strength of the rest of the portfolio is — it hasn’t had an impact in terms of how we’re thinking on the dividend side.
