Agnico Gold Mines, Royal Gold and Barrick Gold delivered earnings beats for the fourth quarter this week, while Kinross Gold missed.
But the gold stocks generally failed to impress. Royal Gold stock made an unsuccessful breakout attempt. Agnico Gold stock snapped a streak of weekly wins. Kinross Gold stock dropped back in buy range. Barrick Gold stock regained a key level, but remains far below a buy point and recent highs.
Gold prices rose for a seventh straight week. But the closely watched $3,000 per ounce level remains elusive. Prices of bullion fell on Friday amid profit-taking, while tariff and inflation fears linger.
Barrick Gold Earnings Surge On Higher Output
On Wednesday, Barrick Gold reported Q4 earnings of 46 cents per share, ahead of FactSet analyst consensus for 42 cents. Revenue of $3.645 billion missed views for $3.955 billion. Year over year, Barrick Gold earnings surged 70% as revenue jumped 19%. It also marked an acceleration on both the top and bottom lines from the third quarter.
In Q4, significant increases in production across all regions delivered higher gold production, the Barrick Gold earnings release said. Realized gold prices rose 6.5% to $2,657 per ounce during the quarter.
Gold production rose by 15% and copper production by 33% from the third quarter, helping Barrick Gold to meet its annual guidance for the year. Further, gold cost of sales and total cash costs fell by 3% and 5%, respectively.
Kinross Gold, Royal Gold, Agnico Earnings
Late Wednesday, Kinross Gold delivered EPS of 20 cents and revenue of $1.419 billion, according to FactSet. Analysts had forecast EPS of 24 cents, soaring 120% year over year, on revenue of $1.453 billion, jumping 30%.
For Q4, Royal Gold posted EPS of $1.63 and revenue of $202.6 million. Analysts had projected EPS of $1.52, leaping 60%, on revenue of $186.2 million, increasing 22%.
A gold "royalty" company, Royal Gold says it provides investors exposure to precious metals without many of the risks of investing in traditional precious metal producers. Royalty companies finance mining companies in need of capital in exchange for the right to a percentage of gold production or revenue.
Late Thursday, Agnico Gold Mines, an IBD Leaderboard stock, posted EPS of $1.26 on revenue of $2.22 billion. Analysts were expecting the company to more than double earnings to $1.18 per share, up 107%, on a 29% revenue gain to $2.26 billion. The company's new three-year guidance shows "stable production outlook."
Cost controls plus "a favorable gold price environment has resulted in record operating margins," Agnico CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said in an earnings release.
Gold Stocks Test Buy Points, Gold ETF In Range
Barrick Gold stock popped 5.3% for the week, regaining the 200-day moving average. The weekly MarketSurge chart shows the Toronto-based gold miner in a nine-week consolidation, still far below a 21.35 buy point.
Royal Gold stock advanced 1.6% on the week, testing a buy point at 154.18 but closing below the entry.
Sandstorm Gold, which will report earnings late Tuesday, carries a 1.4% weekly gain. Shares topped a 6.50 cup-shaped buy point on Monday but closed below it on Friday.
Agnico stock slid almost 5% in Friday's stock market trading. The gold stock snapped a seven-week win streak. Shares are far extended from an 89 buy point, meaning they are not in a proper buy range. The Toronto-based gold mining company completed the takeover of O3 Mining on Feb. 4.
According to MarketSurge data, Fidelity Contrafund raised its stake in Agnico gold stock to 580,000 shares in the fourth quarter, more than doubling from 230,000 in Q3.
Kinross Gold stock fell 5.1% for the week, back in range from a consolidation entry, at 10.82.
The SPDR Gold Shares, an exchange traded fund tracking the price of bullion, reversed lower on Friday, after hitting a new high the previous day. The gold ETF ended in buy range from a recent breakout past 257.71.
The precious yellow metal hit a record high of $2,942.70 on Tuesday. Gold traded around $2,936.99 per ounce on Friday. Gold bulls had been anticipating a move above the $3,000 milestone.
During periods of economic uncertainty and high inflation, gold stocks act as a hedge and diversifier. The cloudy path of inflation and interest rates could give gold prices a period of outperformance.
