4 Dividend-Paying Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Amid COVID-19

Four dividend-paying gold mining stocks to buy amid the COVID-19 global pandemic feature mining stocks that have been rising.

These four dividend-paying gold mining stocks to buy offer ways to gain exposure to the appreciation potential of the precious metal, but also are navigating the risk of their workers toiling near each other. The four dividend-paying gold mining stocks to buy have shown that it is possible to respond to instances of COVID-19 among their employees and take action to halt the spread of the disease.

Thus far this year, investors in gold have seen their holdings appreciate 12.04%, using the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE ARCA:GLD) as a proxy, while WTI crude oil spot prices have plunged 66.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 16.73%, the iShares Silver Trust slid 13.73%, the S&P 500 fell 11.16% and the NASDAQ Composite nosed up 0.33%.

Barrick Gold Is One of 4 Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Amid COVID-19   

Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: GOLD), the second-largest mining company in the United States, has been recommended in the Five Star Trader advisory service for almost two months and already is up 40%. Barrick Gold is the top-performing recommendation in the trading service of economist Mark Skousen, PhD, a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, recipient of the inaugural Triple Crown in Economics in 2018 and honoree as one of the 20 most influential living economists.

Barrick Gold reported a 45.5% gain in first-quarter 2020 earnings to reach 16 cents per share. The company’s sales from gold, silver and copper hit $2.7 billion, up 30% from the same quarter a year ago.

Analysts forecast Barrick Gold will grow earnings 69% this year, well ahead of the industry average. Since Five Star Trader recommends call options as well as stocks, Skousen advised the purchase of Sept. 18 $20 calls before choosing to sell them in three segments for a 118.49% gain on half, 213.20% on a quarter and 161.50% on the remainder to average 152.92% in 49 days.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Barrick Gold has more than doubled in price in the past year, beating the 31.85% gain of the SPDR Gold Shares fund, a 13.71% rise in the NASDAQ Composite, a 3.97% climb in the iShares Silver Trust price, a dip of 0.39% in the S&P 500, a drop of 8.39% in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 66.80% plummet in oil.

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Chart courtesy of www.YCharts.com

Skousen, who has led his monthly Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter for the past 40 years, also noted that Barrick Gold has $3.3 billion in cash as a financial cushion to back its $5.5 billion in long-term debt. Last year, Barrick Gold produced 5.5 million ounces of gold, profit margins above 40% and earnings of $4 billion on revenues of $9.7 billion.

TD Securities raised its rating of Barrick Gold to a “buy” on April 1, when the brokerage set a price target of $28. A second upgrade occurred on March 26 when Deutsche Bank initiated a “buy” on Barrick Gold and put a $25 price target on the stock.

Barrick Gold’s share price rose past the target of $20 set on March 17 by ScotiaBank GBM and the $22 target set on March 13 by UBS. Each hike in the price target accompanied a boost of the respective investment firm’s rating on Barrick Gold, which offers a current dividend yield of 1.03%.

B2Gold Is Another of the 4 Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Amid COVID-19

B2Gold Corporation (NYSE:BTG), a gold mining company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, operates mines in Nicaragua, Namibia, Mali and the Philippines. It also owns properties for exploration of precious metals. The stock is Skousen’s “speculative” recommendation for 2020, offers a current yield of 0.76% and is up 28.93% so far this year and 95.47% for the past year. 

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The mining company boosted its revenues 36% in the past year to $1.2 billion. In the past year, the company’s profit margin topped 25% and it earned more than $285 million.

Mark Skousen, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin, meets with Paul Dykewicz in Philadelphia.

B2Gold’s stock price is relatively inexpensive in the mining sector, selling for less than 10 times expected earnings. The stock has beaten Wall Street expectations four quarters in a row and has amassed $141 million in cash to support its $262 million in long-term debt.

The company announced on May 7 that it had identified 10 positive COVID-19 cases at the Fekola mine site in Mali, including nine workers who seemed asymptomatic. B2Gold’s ongoing COVID-19 testing and response plan has been extended to the mine site and the exploration camp in hopes of preventing spread of the disease to other workers, the local community and the general Malian population.

In addition, B2Gold reported that the cases of COVID-19 do not have material impact on operations. The mine keeps operating and both quarterly and annual production guidance remains intact. Management added that B2Gold places the safety and well-being of its workforce as the highest priority, while monitoring public and employee sentiment to ensure stakeholders agree with the continued operation of the mine.

Kirkland Lake Gold Is Among 4 Dividend-Paying Gold Stocks to Buy Amid COVID-19

Kirkland Lake Gold (NYSE:KL) offers a 1.25% current yield but is facing COVID-19 effects on some of its mining operations, leading the company to withdraw its 2020 guidance on April 1. But it announced on May 6 that it was starting to recall employees who were off work as part of the COVID-19 protocols.

The company’s management added it plans to ramp up business at the affected mining sites gradually, with the timetable determined by ongoing government actions and other developments related to the pandemic. Kirkland Lake Gold announced it did not expect to reach full production in second-quarter 2020 and expected some negative impact on production and costs during most of the year.

Kirkland Lake Gold reduced the number of people at its mines by scaling back operations at its Detour Lake site effective March 23 and at Macassa on April 2, while temporarily halting work at its Holt Complex on April 2. Its management introduced health and safety protocols including remote work wherever possible, medical screening, enhanced cleaning and hygiene practices, along with social distancing of workers. As part of the health and safety protocols, the company suspended all non-essential work at and visits to its mines, including exploration drilling.

“At the current time, it is not possible to estimate the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the company’s business performance in 2020,” according to the announcement. 

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Kirkland Lake Gold improved its first-quarter 2020 revenues to $554.7 million, rising 82%, from $304.9 million in Q1 2019 and up 35% from $412.4 million in Q4 2019. Its net earnings in Q1 2020 hit $202.9 million, or $0.79 per share, soaring 84% from Q1 last year when they totaled $110.1 million, or $0.52 per share, and 20% above $169.1 million, or $0.81 per share, in Q4 2019.

4 Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Amid COVID-19 Include Newmont Corporation 

Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is another gold mining stock that may interest investors eyeing exposure to precious metals. The stock offers a current yield of 1.01%, while its share price jumped 44.12% so far in 2020 and 109.09% in the past year.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

“Gold is an age-old storehouse of wealth,” said Hilary Kramer, host of a national radio program called “Millionaire Maker” and head of the Value Authority and GameChangers advisory services. “If you’re primarily worried about losing what you have to inflation, a slowing economy or even social upheaval, this is your shield. The question is how you deploy that defensive power. While it is nice to see some mines reopen, costs are going to be high and production will be tentative until the virus is finally under control. That’s a wild card.”

With roughly 33 million Americans now out of work, the COVID-19 economic crisis has led roughly 21% of all Americans who had a job in February to file for government assistance. In addition, economic contraction in the first quarter is expected to worsen considerably in the second quarter.

Paul Dykewicz interviews money manager Hilary Kramer, whose premium advisory services include 2-Day Trader, Turbo Trader, High Octane Trader and Inner Circle.

Some stocks like NEM are attractive and any uptick in commodity prices may seem like a windfall, Kramer said. But gold works is at its best when investors are not expecting to make a profit, she added.

For income investors looking for dividend-paying gold mining stocks, Barrick Gold, B2Gold, Kirkland Lake Gold and Newmont Corporation are four equities that are rising and coping with COVID-19 risks. These four dividend-paying gold mining stocks are at least worthy of due diligence as candidates to include in a diversified portfolio.