Sectors & IndustriesBasic MaterialsGold

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: B.

Galiano Gold (NYSEMKT:GAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 27, which is -5 points lower than the gold industry average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates GAU as a "A".

GAU passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Galiano Gold has seen its stock return 200.85% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 40 percentage points.

Galiano Gold has an average 1 year price target of $4.25, an upside of 20.74% from Galiano Gold's current stock price of $3.52.

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: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 20 points higher than the gold industry average of 32.

IAG passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Iamgold has seen its stock return 351.65% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 191 percentage points.

Iamgold has an average 1 year price target of $17.75, a downside of -27.76% from Iamgold's current stock price of $24.57.

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.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) 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 Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 6 points higher than the gold industry average of 32.

PAAS passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Pan American Silver has seen its stock return 187.45% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 27 percentage points.

Pan American Silver has an average 1 year price target of $57.75, a downside of -15.94% from Pan American Silver's current stock price of $68.70.

Pan American Silver stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Pan American Silver, 25% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 25% 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 0.96%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 0.34%.

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

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) has an annual dividend yield of 0.77%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.34%. 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 15.6% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) has an annual dividend yield of 0.61%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.34%. 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 up 1.16% in the last day, and up 8.93% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why gold stocks are up.

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 57, which is 38 points higher than the gold industry average of 19. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Fortuna Mining's stock has gained 215.47% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 55 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 71, which is 52 points higher than the gold industry average of 19. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

B2gold's stock has gained 130.71% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the gold industry by -30 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 57, which is 38 points higher than the gold industry average of 19. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 214.88% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 54 percentage points.

58.82% of gold stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect gold stocks to fall by -8.5% 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), 36.96% are rated C (Hold), 8.7% are rated D (Sell), and 4.35% are rated F (Strong Sell).