With the gold price hovering close to record highs and potentially climbing further when interest rates fall, there's arguably never been a better time to be a gold miner.
But which ASX 200 gold stocks could be worth adding to your portfolio right now? Let's take a look at two that analysts are tipping as buys. They are as follows:
De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)
Goldman Sachs thinks that this gold developer could be a great option for investors looking for exposure to this side of the market. It likes De Grey due to the potential of the Hemi deposit at the Mallina Gold Project. It said:
Once ramped up to >500kozpa, Mallina will have a competitive scale. We risk adjust our NAV with a 15% discount to reflect the fact that DEG's flagship Mallina Gold Project asset is pre-construction and finalised debt funding (though incrementally de-risked post-DFS and equity raise). While historically, mining stocks tend to underperform through the execution and ramp-up phase of a project, we expect with Hemi positioned as a Tier 1 asset of global scale that post-DFS it remains an attractive potential strategic consolidation target.
Goldman has a buy rating and $1.40 price target on the ASX 200 gold stock. This implies potential upside of over 33% for investors over the next 12 months.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
Another ASX 200 gold stock that gets the thumbs up from analysts is mining giant Northern Star.
Bell Potter just turned positive on the company. It likes Northern Star due to its growing production, merger and acquisition (M&A) potential, and attractive valuation. It said:
Our investment view is based on: (1) Our NPV based valuation for the Group's Ore Reserves, plus an exploration valuation applying $100/oz for unutilised Mineral Resources. (2) Total Resource to Reserve conversion is a modest ~35%, highlighting the opportunity to extend / enhance current mine lives. (3) NST has a large market capitalisation relative to other ASX listed gold companies, growing production and BP forecast earnings, and a low debt position, and therefore a sector leading M&A capability for assets that fit its target criteria. (4) NST compares well to comparable international companies, particularly following the expansion of KCGM. We see upside to the current share price from the very large Group Mineral Resource base, gold price leverage and inorganic growth.
The broker has a buy rating and $17.50 price target on Northern Star's shares. This suggests that upside of 20% is possible for investors over the next 12 months.
