In this article, we discuss 5 best gold mining stocks to buy now. If you want to see more stocks in this selection, click 12 Best Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Now.
5. Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) features on our list of the best gold mining stocks. It is a Colorado-based precious metals company that focuses on acquiring stream and royalty interests in gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and cobalt properties. On August 24, Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, in line with previous. The dividend is distributable on October 21, to shareholders of record on October 7.
Raymond James analyst Brian MacArthur on August 5 maintained an Outperform rating on Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) but lowered the price target on the shares to C$142 from C$144.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) was part of 25 public stock portfolios at the end of Q2 2022, up from 20 in the earlier quarter. Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management is the largest position holder in the company, with 3.2 million shares worth nearly $345 million.
Here is what Argosy Investors said about Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“Gold royalties business achieve 2 objectives for us: 1) It’s a good business model with strong returns through the gold price cycle; and 2) it provides some protection from inflation, should it materialize due to the increasingly loose fiscal and monetary policy decisions the United States (and other developed market economies) is making.
I don’t want to stay on my soapbox for too long, but this is the first time in history that I’m aware of politicians openly stating that debt levels don’t matter, even in the long term. In 2019, the government spent $4.4 trillion. Of those expenditures, $0.4 trillion was spent making interest payments on existing debt at the time of $16.9 trillion. The interest rate on that debt was 2.4%. Debt for 2021 is projected to increase to $22.5 trillion, and then to $33 trillion by the end of the decade.
I don’t have a crystal ball, but if interest rates increased to previously “normal” levels of only 5%, U.S. interest payments would be over $1.1 billion in 2021, 25% of U.S. total expenditures in 2019. In the event that happens, there are a few choices: 1) run a larger deficit which could lead to accelerating debt levels; 2) reduce government spending on things like the military, Medicare, Social Security, pensions, and other programs; or 3) the government allows or encourages inflation to reduce the value of its debt obligations.
To be clear, this spiraling debt outcome currently seems and likely is not happening within the next several years, but the probability of it occurring is not zero and things have changed rapidly before. For that reason, I think an investment in Royal Gold provides some minor insulation against inflation.”
