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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 +28.50% 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:

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) is the #1 top gold stock out of 51 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is -14 points lower than the gold industry average of 37. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SBSW as a "A".

SBSW passed 7 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Sibanye Stillwater has seen its stock lose -22.18% over the past year, underperforming other gold stocks by -36 percentage points.

Sibanye Stillwater has an average 1 year price target of $13.50, an upside of 53.93% from Sibanye Stillwater's current stock price of $8.77.

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

Mako Mining (NASDAQ:MAKO) is the #2 top gold stock out of 51 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mako Mining (NASDAQ:MAKO) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Mako Mining (NASDAQ:MAKO) has a Due Diligence Score of 14, which is -23 points lower than the gold industry average of 37. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MAKO as a "B".

MAKO passed 4 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals.

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) is the #3 top gold stock out of 51 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Fortuna Mining (NYSE:FSM) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 15 points higher than the gold industry average of 37.

FSM passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Fortuna Mining has seen its stock return 7.5% over the past year, underperforming other gold stocks by -6 percentage points.

Out of 22 gold stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 gold stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) has an annual dividend yield of 8.66%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 1.7%. Sibanye Stillwater's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Sibanye Stillwater's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sibanye Stillwater's dividend payout ratio of -59% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) has an annual dividend yield of 6.87%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 1.7%. Gold Fields's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% six times in the last 10 years. Gold Fields's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Gold Fields's dividend payout ratio of 46.1% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) has an annual dividend yield of 3.52%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 1.7%.

Aura Minerals's dividend payout ratio of 51.6% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Gold stocks were down -0.47% in the last day, and down -5.82% over the last week. Contango Silver & Gold was the among the top losers in the gold industry, dropping -9.49% yesterday.

Contango Silver & Gold shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 earnings.

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:

Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW) 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.

Sibanye Stillwater has a valuation score of 14, which is -19 points higher than the gold industry average of 33. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SBSW a Valuation Rating of "A".

Sibanye Stillwater's stock has dropped -22.18% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the gold industry by -36 percentage points.

Oceanagold (NYSE:OGC) 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.

Oceanagold has a valuation score of 71, which is 38 points higher than the gold industry average of 33. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is the third 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.

Galiano Gold has a valuation score of 71, which is 38 points higher than the gold industry average of 33. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Galiano Gold's stock has dropped -0.44% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the gold industry by -14 percentage points.

48.39% of gold stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect gold stocks to rise by 32.29% over the next year.

2.27% of gold stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 2.27% of gold stocks are rated B (Buy), 65.91% are rated C (Hold), 18.18% are rated D (Sell), and 11.36% are rated F (Strong Sell).