The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price has outperformed the broader market in 2024 and is up 17% this year to date.
Northern Star, like many gold mining stocks, has benefitted from record-high gold prices this year. This has occurred while input costs like oil have remained flat.
Brokers are now bullish on the stock, tipping further upside potential to come, along with the price of the yellow metal it mines from the earth's crust. Let's take a look.
Gold drives Northern Star share price higher
Gold's performance this year has supported the Northern Star share price. Gold rallied from lows of US$1,852 per ounce this time last year and currently fetches US$2,642 per ounce.
Several factors have pushed gold prices higher in 2024. Global central banks have stepped up their purchases of the metal to diversify their assets from other financial securities.
But gold's status as a 'safe-haven' asset has also seen investors pile into the market this year amid a flurry of global risks.
As a result, gold sits near its record highs set in September, and Northern Star could benefit from this as it begins to offload its inventories to customers.
The gold miner already produces about 1.6 million ounces of resource annually and aims to increase that to 2 million ounces by FY26.
If it were to sell more gold at higher prices – and input costs were contained – this could benefit the Northern Star share price. Time will tell.
Brokers are bullish
With the price of gold hitting new highs, it's not surprising to see the ratings on gold miners follow suit.
Jefferies upgraded its rating on the Northern Star share price to a buy this week, setting a price target of $19.50 per share according to The Australian.
This suggests a potential upside of 22% at the time of writing. What's interesting about Jefferies' upgrade is that it was the only stock that saw an increase in rating – all the other recommendations were downgrades.
Macquarie also has an outperform rating on the stock with a price target of $19.00 per share. The broker is bullish about Northern Star's production growth and ability to capitalise on rising gold prices.
Meanwhile, Morgans is also positive on Northern Star, with a buy rating and a price target of $16.90.
Morgans points to the company's production growth, particularly with its Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) expansion project.
This is forecast to boost Northern Star's production to 2 million ounces by FY26.
The Northern Star share price is also rated a moderate buy from consensus analyst estimates according to CommSec.
Foolish takeaway
Several major brokers, along with the view on gold prices, believe that the Northern Star share price looks well-positioned to grow over the coming periods.
In the last 12 months, the stock is up more than 42%.
