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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:

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is the #1 top gold stock out of 49 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 Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 16, which is -13 points lower than the gold industry average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates GAU as a "A".

GAU passed 5 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Galiano Gold has seen its stock return 161.48% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 39 percentage points.

Galiano Gold has an average 1 year price target of $4.25, an upside of 33.23% from Galiano Gold's current stock price of $3.19.

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

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is the #2 top gold stock out of 49 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 Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 51, which is 22 points higher than the gold industry average of 29.

IAG passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 281.48% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 159 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $17.75, a downside of -17.94% from Iamgold's current stock price of $21.63.

Iamgold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Iamgold, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) is the #3 top gold stock out of 49 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 Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 12 points higher than the gold industry average of 29.

B passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Barrick Mining has seen its stock return 145.72% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 24 percentage points.

Barrick Mining has an average 1 year price target of $51.13, an upside of 12.71% from Barrick Mining's current stock price of $45.36.

Barrick Mining stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Barrick Mining, 37.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 12.5% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 gold stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 gold stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) has an annual dividend yield of 1.15%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 0.44%. Barrick Mining's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% four times in the last 10 years. Barrick Mining's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Barrick Mining's dividend payout ratio of 17.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) has an annual dividend yield of 0.99%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 0.44%.

Aura Minerals's dividend payout ratio of -80.2% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) has an annual dividend yield of 0.66%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.44%. 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 27.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Gold stocks were down -3.94% in the last day, and down -9.52% over the last week. Hycroft Mining Holding was the among the top losers in the gold industry, dropping -13.86% yesterday.

Shares of precious metal companies are trading lower amid a stronger dollar and rising yields as the market drops due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

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 163.82% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 42 percentage points.

B2gold (NYSEMKT:BTG) 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.

B2gold 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.

B2gold's stock has gained 86.74% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the gold industry by -35 percentage points.

Caledonia Mining (NYSEMKT:CMCL) 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.

Caledonia 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.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 157.33% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 35 percentage points.

60.61% of gold stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect gold stocks to rise by 2.97% over the next year.

15.22% of gold stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 34.78% of gold stocks are rated B (Buy), 32.61% are rated C (Hold), 15.22% are rated D (Sell), and 2.17% are rated F (Strong Sell).