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Best Gold Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top gold stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best gold stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best gold mining stocks to buy right now are:

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) is the #1 top gold stock out of 47 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 4 points higher than the gold industry average of 34.

CGAU passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Centerra Gold has seen its stock return 163.92% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 38 percentage points.

Centerra Gold has an average 1 year price target of $14.17, a downside of -7.77% from Centerra Gold's current stock price of $15.36.

Centerra Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Centerra Gold, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 66.67% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) is the #2 top gold stock out of 47 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 5 points higher than the gold industry average of 34.

CMCL passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Caledonia Mining has seen its stock return 221.01% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 95 percentage points.

Caledonia Mining has an average 1 year price target of $28.00, a downside of -4.04% from Caledonia Mining's current stock price of $29.18.

Caledonia Mining stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Caledonia Mining, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) is the #3 top gold stock out of 47 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) has a Due Diligence Score of 7, which is -27 points lower than the gold industry average of 34. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates AUGO as a "A".

AUGO passed 2 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals.

Aura Minerals has an average 1 year price target of $48.90, a downside of -7.3% from Aura Minerals's current stock price of $52.75.

Aura Minerals stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Aura Minerals, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 4 gold stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 gold stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) has an annual dividend yield of 1.54%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 0.48%.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) has an annual dividend yield of 0.92%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.48%. Newmont's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Newmont's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Newmont's dividend payout ratio of 15.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) has an annual dividend yield of 0.74%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.48%. Royal Gold's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Royal Gold's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio of 24.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Gold stocks were up 1.13% in the last day, and up 8.76% over the last week. New Gold was the among the top gainers in the gold industry, gaining 4.6% yesterday.

Shares of precious metals are trading higher as the price of the commodity rises after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Fed's Chair Powell. Traders are turning to safe-haven assets as the US dollar weakens amid growing concerns about Federal Reserve independence.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued gold stocks right now are:

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) is the most undervalued gold stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Fortuna Mining has a valuation score of 71, which is 50 points higher than the gold industry average of 21. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 133.71% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 8 percentage points.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) is the second most undervalued gold stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Caledonia Mining has a valuation score of 43, which is 22 points higher than the gold industry average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 221.01% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 95 percentage points.

Ssr Mining (NASDAQ:SSRM) is the third most undervalued gold stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Ssr Mining has a valuation score of 86, which is 65 points higher than the gold industry average of 21. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ssr Mining's stock has gained 196.63% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 71 percentage points.

55.88% of gold stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect gold stocks to rise by 4.84% over the next year.

11.11% of gold stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 35.56% of gold stocks are rated B (Buy), 37.78% are rated C (Hold), 8.89% are rated D (Sell), and 6.67% are rated F (Strong Sell).