10 'Precious' Gold and Silver Stocks, ETFs for Your Portfolio

A pullback in the U.S. dollar along with an easing inflation has given a short-term lift to gold, silver and other metals. Is this a temporary move or the start of a renewed bullish trend? These contributors to MoneyShow.com are optimistic that better days do indeed lie ahead for precious metals. Todd Shaver, Bull Market Report The largest gold ETF in the world and a holding in our Special Opportunities portfolio, the SPDR Gold Trust went nowhere in 2022, down 1% for the year. While it has outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq last year, its performance during a period of runaway inflation and high market volatility has been uninspiring at best. However, with crypto markets now in the doldrums, and global financial markets all set to enter a painful recession, gold will start turning a corner in 2023, and reassume its role as a portfolio diversifier. Gold prices currently trade at a key technical level, just scraping its 200-day moving average, the breaching of which could launch a sustained push to higher levels. We're not big believers in charts, but many investors are. Other macro factors include the possibility of a deep recession in 2023, which could force the Fed to abandon its inflation target of 2%, and start bringing down rates immediately, creating a strong push higher for gold and other precious metals. Another long-term trend pertains to the shaky position of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency, especially following the sanctions on Russia. With this, gold could return to favor as a store of wealth and value in the years ahead, and there are few better ways to gain exposure to gold than the SPDR Gold Trust, with its remarkable execution, experience, and negligible expense ratio. Much of the world believes in gold as a store of value and a hedge against government monetary printing presses. In my view, 2023 just might be the year of the gold comeback. Mark Skousen, Fast Money Trader Inflation is peaking, earnings are holding up (so far) and the market is beginning to price in the reaching of the terminal rate (i.e., the point at which the federal funds rate stops increasing) in the first half or even the first quarter of 2023. Given the current situation, we see a silver lining -- and by silver we mean that literally, as one segment of the market capturing the fast-money attention is silver and gold. Our latest recommendation is a mining stock that's breaking out of a solidly bullish technical pattern and one that saw its share price soar some 40% in the fourth quarter. That company is Hecla Mining Co. , which produces and explores silver, gold, lead and zinc. Its main silver mines include Idaho-based Lucky Friday and Greens Creek in Alaska. Hecla acquired 100% of the Greens Creek from Rio Tinto in April 2008, after holding a 29% interest in it for 20 years. The acquisition doubled the company's silver production, making it a leader in the silver mining industry. It was only in late November that shares moved decisively above their 200-day moving average. And while the Q4 run has been impressive, shares are still well below their 52-week high of $7.66. We suspect more room to run in HL as the fast money embraces the silver lining that is silver mining stocks. So, let's buy Hecla at market with a protective stop set at $4.49. Adrian Day, Global Analyst Fortuna Silver reported a solid fourth quarter, with gold and silver production both in line with full-year guidance, while lead and zinc exceeded guidance somewhat. Gold production was above many analyst expectations, although costs were up, at most mines around 15%, driven by sustaining capital spending. This quarter represents another consecutive quarter where Fortuna's operations have met or exceeded expectations after a frustrating series of issues in 2021 and early 2022. Construction at Séguéla remains on track, with first gold expected in the second-quarter, after mining begins this quarter. The company is initiating action in Mexico, on both the judicial and political front, over the last reversal of its permit for San Jose. The company is looking for an increase in gold-equivalent ounces this year of between 3% and 15% over last year, driven by a 25% increase in gold as Séguéla comes on stream. Gold production is expected at between 282Kk and 320K, as much as a 23% increase, while silver output is expected to decline by up to 9% to 6.3 million to 6.9 million ounces. Overall, with strong management, a solid balance sheet, a diversified asset base, and growth ahead, I believe that Fortuna can be accumulated here and bought aggressively on any dips. Bruce Kaser, Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor Barrick Gold , based in Toronto, is one of the world's largest and highest-quality gold mining companies. About 50% of its production comes from North America, with the balance from Africa/Middle East (32%) and Latin America/Asia Pacific (18%). Barrick will continue to improve its operating performance (led by its highly capable CEO), generate strong free cash flow at current gold prices, and return much of that free cash flow to investors while making minor but sensible acquisitions. Barrick's balance sheet has nearly zero debt net of cash. Major risks include the possibility of a decline in gold prices, production problems at its mines, a major acquisition and/or an expropriation of one or more of its mines. Barrick reported fourth-quarter gold production that rose 13% from the third quarter, but this was about 1% below the guided volume. We don't see this quarter's miss as a problem as long as it was a one-off miss. Investors and commentators offer a wide range of outlooks for the economy, interest rates and inflation. We have our views but hold these as more of a general framework than a high-conviction posture. Investing in gold-related equities is a long-term decision -- investors shouldn't allow near-term weakness to deter their resolve. The stock has 43% upside to our $27 price target. Bob Carlson, Retirement Watch Gold hasn't returned yet to the peak reached in August 2020, but recent returns are strong despite market expectations that inflation peaked. A lower dollar usually helps gold. The U.S. dollar has fallen below its peak and is down more than 8% in the last three months. Expectations of lower interest rates also support gold's price. Increased geopolitical conflicts and worldwide political uncertainty are other factors that propel gold higher. To increase our gold exposure, we are bringing back a previous winner, the ETF iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers , which tracks the MSCI ACWI Select Metals & Mining Producers index, excluding gold and silver miners. The companies in the index sell at attractive valuations and have low debt levels. Most will generate attractive shareholder returns at recent commodity prices and even at lower prices. There has been little investment in production in recent years, creating a long-term supply-demand imbalance. Commodity prices will rise, and investor returns will increase, any time global growth rises. Commodity prices also could spike again if China's growth rate increases as it relaxes its extreme pandemic policies and takes other actions. PICK recently had a yield of 6.92%. The fund had a tough time in 2022 but is bouncing back. It is up 14.19% in the last four weeks, 38.76% over three months, 12.83% for the year to date and 7.42% over the last 12 months. The fund owns more than 250 stocks, but 53% of the fund is in its 10 largest positions. Top holdings recently were BHP Group Rio Tinto , Vale , Glencore and Freeport-McMoRan . Peter Krauth, Silver Stock Investor I've never been so bullish on their upside potential and the outlook for silver. With a potential end to Fed rate hikes within a few quarters, the dollar is likely to weaken. In addition, ongoing supply deficits, industrial demand, green energy, should help boost silver in 2023 Here's an overview of the reason to own Sprott Physical Silver Trust : Basic exposure to silver price Low risk Low premium to spot silver price Global X Silver Miners ETF remains a basic holding for all portfolios to maintain exposure to safest asset. Here are reasons to own the fund: Excellent instant diversification High potential sector Low sector risk Pays an attractive 1.7% dividend while you wait Silver miners remain very undervalued right now Here are reasons to own ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETF : Instant diversification Exposure to higher potential of junior and mid-tier silver subsector 2023 should be strong, on the basis that silver extends its new upleg Mid-tier silver companies mostly remain very undervalued Mike Cintolo, Cabot Top Ten Trader Two of our latest featured recommendations are precious metals stocks, but neither is a miner - instead, both are royalty streaming plays. Royal Gold is a provider of up-front payments to miners in exchange for the right to buy gold, silver, copper and other resources at a set (low) price, or else receive a percentage of the sales of the metal when they occur. This focus on royalties gives the firm an advantage over traditional mining companies in a weak gold price environment. Royal recently achieved the full recovery of a $782 million stream advance payment at its Mount Milligan copper/gold mine in Canada. It also announced the mine's expected life has been extended by four years, to 2033, which means a significantly longer runway of gold and silver payouts are likely. Royal also maintained its long-term growth strategy in Q3 by adding significant assets to its royalty portfolio. Moving forward, Royal said it's on the lookout for additional opportunities to expand its mine portfolio. Analysts, meanwhile, see sales and EPS jumping around 13% this year, which should prove conservative as gold prices rebound. Wheaton Precious Metals is one of the world's largest streamers, with agreements for 21 operating mines and 13 development stage projects to purchase all or a portion of their gold, silver or cobalt production for an upfront payment. This business strategy produces big margins and allows the company to remain relatively insulated from the rising cost inflation impacting other miners. Wheaton's main focus is on high-quality, high-margin operations with a goal of returning a minimum of 30% of cash flow to its shareholders. Management said it sees a very healthy appetite for streaming as a source of capital for the mining industry and is actively pursuing a number of new deals. Wall Street sees earnings bouncing a touch this year, though those estimates should rise nicely if the latest gold/silver price rally sticks.

10 'Precious' Gold and Silver Stocks, ETFs for Your Portfolio

Experts are optimistic that better days lie ahead for precious metals.

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