Top Gold and Silver Stock Ideas for 2022

While hot money suggests that cryptocurrencies will replace gold and silver as stores of value we'd point out that in the MoneyShow Top Picks 2022 report, not a single advisor this year is currently recommending a crypto-related play, while gold and silver remains one of the more popular sectors for year-ahead gains. Sean Brodrick, Wealth Megatrends Pan American Silver is based in Canada and operates throughout Latin America. It has nine producing mines and digs up silver, gold, zinc, lead and copper. It has a total reserve base of 529 million ounces of silver and 4.2 million ounces of gold. The company has become more of a gold producer (by revenue) than a silver producer. The pandemic slapped this stock around like it did most miners. But the company is roaring back and its revenues jumped 53.2% in the third quarter to a new record. And it did that when silver was knocked down (but not out). Earnings took a hit thanks to rising costs. But three catalysts for growth could transform this company and send the stock higher. They are: La Colorada in Mexico -- This is a new discovery and CEO Michael Steinmann called the results from drill holes at La Colorada astonishing. Results include a 77-meter interval containing 119 grams per ton silver, 7.7% lead and 13.62% zinc. Escobal in Guatemala -- This is a large silver mine that Pan American acquired from Tahoe. It's rich in silver, and also contains gold, lead and zinc. Escobal was the world's third largest silver mine. It halted production in 2017 due to local opposition; Pan American is working through the courts to restart. Navidad in Argentina -- This is an undeveloped silver deposit with 632.3 million ounces of silver. Local opposition has also seen this project delayed, but this could work out, too. There's no denying that Pan American has some local trouble. But either Escobal or Navidad could get the go-ahead this year. And that would light a booster rocket under this stock. In the meantime, you're paid to wait. Pan American Silver recently sported a dividend yield of 1.8%. That dividend is projected to grow 19.49% per year for the next three years. So, we've got growth, potentially massive mines either coming online or advancing, and it's a dividend raiser. Peter Krauth, Silver Stock Investor It's rare to find one stock that has it all. Well, here's one that has size, safety, yield and growth: Wheaton Precious Metals . With a market cap of US $19 billion, Wheaton is the second largest precious metals royalty and streaming company in the world. Royalty and streaming companies provide funding for mining projects. In return, they receive a portion of the miner's revenue or metal output at a discount from the spot price. This business is so efficient, the largest gold royalty/streaming companies boast revenues per employee of over $20 million annually in 2020. In my view, exposure to precious metals is essential over the next several years. With inflation at 40-year highs and interest rates near historic lows, this is the ideal environment for gold and silver to outperform stocks and bonds. But silver is also an industrial metal that's irreplaceable in many applications. With the global shift to green energy and electrification, silver's demand from solar panels, electric vehicles, wind power and high-tech electronics is soaring, while supply can't keep pace. With inflation at 40-year highs and interest rates near historic lows, this is the ideal environment for gold and silver to outperform stocks and bonds. In 2020, silver represented 36% of WPM's revenues, while gold was 60% and palladium 4%. At slightly more than one third, WPM has the highest silver revenue profile among streaming and royalty companies. But silver will grow to 41% of revenue over the next 5 years, while geopolitical diversification remains strong. Based on reserves and resources, Wheaton has over 40 years of mine life remaining. In addition, management is still finding new significant growth opportunities. In 2021, the company added two silver, four gold, and one new platinum stream. Wheaton is a must own stock for every portfolio, and I think it could well return north of 30% gains in 2022 before dividends. It's one that I will be watching very closely. Adrian Day, Global Analyst Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has long been regarded as one of the better quality of the major miners, with consistently solid management, strong balance sheet, and low political risk profile. Once its merger with Kirkland Lake is complete -- anticipated during the first quarter now that both sets of shareholders have given their approval -- Agnico will be the third largest in the world, after Newmont and Barrick . The combined company will see 75% of its production from Canada and most of the rest from Australia and Finland, giving it the best political risk profile of the majors by a long way. This year it is spending $160 million, more than any other year in its 60-year history, which includes on its pipeline, on brownfield projects, and also on grassroots exploration. Nunavit and Finland are the two regions getting the bulk of spending this year. Kirkland and Agnico are the only two companies to have increased reserves and production (per-share basis) over last 10 years through investment in exploration. Agnico is certainly less well-known in the U.S. than its larger peers, but this merger provides an opportunity for it to increase awareness. It will have an appeal to generalist investors because of its quality: cash flow, balance sheet, political risk profile, and track record. Agnico trades at a premium to the sector, justified because of the company's overall excellence. The stock is down from highs around $80 a year ago. It is a buy, not in expectations that it will necessarily be the best-performing gold stock in the next few years, but one with the surest upside and with the least downside. Alan Newman, Crosscurrents Despite occasional and inevitable zig zags, gold remains in a long-term uptrend, which augurs well for Newmont Mining shareholders. We have been long-term bulls on the yellow metal for over twenty years ago. We have seen no reason to temper our views. The company announced a dividend increase from $0.25 to $0.40 per share in October of 2020 and again increased the dividend in February 2021 -- to $0.55 per share. The company's policy is to return 40 to 60 percent of incremental attributable free cash flow to shareholders that is generated above a $1,200 per ounce gold price. The company's base annual dividend remains $1 per share and is sustainable at a level of $1,200 per ounce for gold. Given that the S&P 500 is vastly overvalued by historical measures such as a price earnings (P/E) ratio more than double the historical median, a severe bear market cannot be ruled out. Cryptocurrencies generally do not pay any dividends at all. For disclosure, I own Newmont and the shares have been a perennial favorite of mine for many years. For long-term holders, we believe Newmont Mining makes a lot of sense. Bruce Kaser, Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor Barrick Gold , based in Toronto, is one of the world's largest and highest quality gold mining companies. The shares are out of favor as investors have lost interest in commodity gold and, to a lesser extent, due to concerns that the company will be unable to meet its production targets, may make a major acquisition or have one or more of its mines expropriated by local governments. We are more optimistic about the company's prospects and find its shares significantly undervalued. A major turning point in the company's fundamentals was Barrick's acquisition of Randgold at the start of 2019, whose CEO, the highly regarded Mark Bristow, became the new head of Barrick. Bristow brings deep experience in improving mine operational efficiency as well as a track record of success in assuaging local governments that otherwise might be more aggressive in claiming large cuts of the company's in-country mines. Central to our interest is that Barrick will continue to return much of its free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. In 2021, the company's regular and special dividends generated a 4% dividend yield. Barrick has repaid much of its debt in recent years, such that it now carries cash balances that nearly fully offset its debt. In addition to the value created through its generous free cash flow, Barrick shares offer optionality -- if the unusual economic, monetary and fiscal conditions drive up the price of gold, Barrick's shares will rise with it. Given their attractive valuation, the shares don't need this second (optionality) point to work -- it offers extra upside. We have a $27 price target, based on 7.5x estimated steady-state EBITDA and a modest premium to our $25/share estimated net asset value. Gerardo Del Real, Junior Resource Monthly Aldebaran Resources Inc. (Vancouver: ALDE)(OTC: ) is a recently formed and well-funded Canadian exploration company led by the former management of Antares Minerals Inc. and current management of Regulus Resources (Vancouver: REG). The team includes John E. Black, Dr. Kevin B. Heather, and Mark Wayne. They have a proven track record with Antares, drilling out the giant Haquira Cu-Mo-Au deposit in Peru, which they sold to First Quantum Minerals (Toronto: FM) in 2010 for approximately C$650 million. The team is looking to duplicate that success with Regulus, and then complete the trifecta with Aldebaran. Aldebaran has acquired the Argentina projects previously owned by Regulus. It's also party to a joint venture and option agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater , whereby Aldebaran can earn up to an 80% interest in the Altar copper gold project located in Argentina. The project has a massive resource that includes 4.32 million ounces of gold in the Measured & Indicated categories and another 400k ounces in the inferred category. It also boasts 11.4 billion pounds of copper in the M&I categories and another 1.8 billion pounds in the inferred category. News flow from drilling and better visibility in a copper-gold bull market will lead to a significant re-rating that will send the shares much higher. Ralph Aldis, U.S. Global Investors Conservative M&A may be on the wane with the Kinross takeout of Great Bear, potentially on a scarcity of large assets mindset. Our top pick for more conservative investors in 2022 is K92 Mining Inc. (Toronto: KNT). There are only a handful of Tier 1 assets that could produce more than 300k ounces per year for more than 10 years that are still in the hands of single asset companies. Michael Gray, Agentis Capital, picked up coverage in November and expects explosive resource growth through the drill bit for the resource base, with the company poised for +10 years of production growth -- with an unparalleled six-year 24% production growth to 2027. A strong relationship with the Papua New Guinea government is in place with K92 becoming a taxpayer after only two years upon declaring commercial production. The company's relationship with the local indigenous people in the Kaintanu region has been excellent as John Lewins, CEO, brought in an anthropologist to develop a deep understanding of the Kainantu region, clan structure and community values, so cultural awareness is a key value of the company. K92's management team, led by John Lewins, is one that you can trust to do the right work and he is one of the few CEOs that spends considerable time on site every month and has a significant amount of personal stock ownership in the company. Omar Ayales, Gold Charts R Us For my conservative Top Pick for the coming year, I'm buying gold through the ETF Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS). The global economy continues to muddle through Covid-19. Most countries are still recovering from the most severe economic lockdowns in 2020 due to Covid-19; many extended lockdowns through 2021 and to this day. The continued rise in inflation is also likely given the debasement of currencies globally; it has been happening for years but was been aggravated during the Covid-19 crisis. Out of the U.S. billions of dollars have been given to people to spend. The conditions are very favorable for risk-off assets, particularly gold, U.S. Treasuries and the U.S. dollar, as well as other safe havens like utilities and solid dividend earners. Gold, in particular, reached a bottom in March 2021 and has been up-trending since. It has a key resistance at $1925; and if this level is broken, gold could continue rising, initially to the August 2020 highs near $2,100. Last year my conservative recommendations were gold and silver. Over the past year, gold has fallen about 5% and silver a 10%. Interestingly, just after we had announced our recommendation, during the month of March, gold and U.S. Treasuries bottomed and have since been on the rise, or at least forming a strong base and support level. As an added idea, in addition to recommending gold through Sprott Physical Gold, I would also recommend that conservative investors own silver through the Sprott Physical Silver ETF (PSLV). Get free access to the full 100+ page Top Picks Report featuring the nation's most respected and well-known newsletter advisors' favorite investment ideas for 2022.

Top Gold and Silver Stock Ideas for 2022

Forget crypto. Eight investment advisors select their favorite gold and silver plays for this year.

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