It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that gold mining stocks would post solid earnings. The price of gold has been flirting with a price of $2,000 per ounce as many investors are seeking alternatives to the U.S. dollar.
When considering mining stocks, however, production is a key metric to watch. Commodity prices rise and fall and even gold has faced some resistance after climbing over $2,000 an ounce. What investors are looking for is a company that has proven assets and rising production from those assets.
All three of these companies delivered solid earnings reports for investors to digest. But after the earnings report does one stand out above the others? If you're a momentum investor, one does look to shine more brightly than the others.
Eldorado Gold
Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) posted earnings per share (EPS) of 14 cents beating analysts’ expectations by 180%. The company’s revenue of $229.40 million was slightly below expectations for $236.6 million. However, it was higher on a year-over-year basis, and put the company on pace to hit its annual production target of between 475,000 to 515,000 ounces of gold.
The 30-year old mid-cap miner’s strategy focuses on mining low-cost, long-life assets in Turkey, Greece, and Canada. Eldorado projects mining output to increase steadily in the next five years, which should bode well for both revenue and earnings.
Since December 2022, EGO stock has been outperforming its peers as well as two established gold indexes. Still trading at $11.11 as of this writing the MarketBeat Eldorado Gold analyst ratings show the stock having a consensus Hold rating with a 12% downside. Since the company reported earnings on April 27, no new analysts have registered an opinion on the stock.
Agnico Eagle Mines
The Canadian-based Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) delivered a beat on both the top and bottom lines when it reported earnings on April 27. Revenue came in at $1.51 billion, which was just a shade higher than the $1.49 billion that analysts expected. On the bottom line, EPS of 58 cents was over 18% higher than the 49 cents that was forecast.
Agnico is a large-cap miner that has a history of consistent profitability. The company has mining operations in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Latin America.
Analysts are generally upbeat about AEM stock. The MarketBeat Agnico Eagle Minds analyst ratings have a consensus target showing a 5% increase in the price as of this writing. And the company just declared a 40-cent per share dividend which will be payable to shareholders of record on June 1, 2023.
However, at a time when every aspect of a company's operation is drawing close scrutiny, the company is drawing negative headlines regarding the compensation of its CEO, which is significantly higher than that of other miners.
Alamos Gold
The last of the gold miners on this list is Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI). This is another mid-cap miner, but it may be the best of this trio. In the past three months, the stock has been outperforming the sector by delivering a stock price gain of over 19%.
The company’s recent earnings report should do nothing to reverse that trend. The miner reported earnings per share of 12 cents, which beat the forecast of eight cents a share. That was also higher than the five cents EPS reported in the same quarter last year. The same was true of revenue, which came in at $251.50 million, higher than the $231.55 million expected and well above the $184.50 the company delivered in the same quarter the previous year.
The MarketBeat Alamos Gold analyst ratings show a consensus price target of $14.50 which is a 10% increase from the current price. Put all together, Alamos Gold appears to offer not only the momentum but the forward guidance that may make it the best buy of these three mining stocks.
