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

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 5 points higher than the gold industry average of 33.

CGAU passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Centerra Gold has seen its stock return 164.85% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 45 percentage points.

Centerra Gold has an average 1 year price target of $16.50, a downside of -5.61% from Centerra Gold's current stock price of $17.48.

Centerra Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Centerra Gold, 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.

Orla Mining (NYSEMKT:ORLA) 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 Orla Mining (NYSEMKT:ORLA) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Orla Mining (NYSEMKT:ORLA) has a Due Diligence Score of 60, which is 27 points higher than the gold industry average of 33.

ORLA passed 21 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Orla Mining has seen its stock return 145.54% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 26 percentage points.

Orla Mining has an average 1 year price target of $27.00, an upside of 69.17% from Orla Mining's current stock price of $15.96.

Orla Mining stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Orla Mining, 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.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) 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 Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) has a Due Diligence Score of 35, which is 2 points higher than the gold industry average of 33.

KGC passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Kinross Gold has seen its stock return 187.53% over the past year, overperforming other gold stocks by 68 percentage points.

Kinross Gold has an average 1 year price target of $36.50, an upside of 10.67% from Kinross Gold's current stock price of $32.98.

Kinross Gold stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Kinross Gold, 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 1.28%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the gold industry average of 0.43%.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) has an annual dividend yield of 0.86%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.43%. 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 0.69%, which is the same as the gold industry average of 0.43%. 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 down -0.26% in the last day, and down -12.34% over the last week.

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

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 102.88% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the gold industry by -17 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 57, which is 36 points higher than the gold industry average of 21. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Caledonia Mining's stock has gained 188.77% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 69 percentage points.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) 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.

Centerra Gold 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.

Centerra Gold's stock has gained 164.85% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the gold industry by 45 percentage points.

58.82% of gold stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect gold stocks to rise by 5.61% over the next year.

11.36% of gold stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 29.55% of gold stocks are rated B (Buy), 45.45% are rated C (Hold), 11.36% are rated D (Sell), and 2.27% are rated F (Strong Sell).