ASX 200 gold mining stocks have had an incredible run lately.
This has largely been driven by the surging gold price, which has climbed nearly 50% in the past 12 months.
Over the period, ongoing geopolitical tensions have boosted gold's role as a haven, fuelling demand. More recently, the US Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates has further boosted gold's appeal.
As reported by The Motley Fool's Bernd Struben last week, the yellow metal recently traded at US$3,865.14 (AU$5,847) per ounce. This marked a new all-time high.
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Experts say gold rally will continue
Looking ahead, several experts have predicted that the gold price will reach new heights in the coming year.
Last week, the Australian Financial Review reported that Perth-based broker Argonaut had lifted its forecast for gold to peak at US$4,500 an ounce, up US$500 from its previous guidance.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has also tipped the gold price to reach US$4,000 by mid-2026, and US$4,300 by the end of next year.
In a 1 October broker research note, Commodities Update: Balancing act Positive bias towards gold, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) noted that it was overweight on the gold sector.
Macquarie names top 3 ASX 200 gold stocks
Macquarie also named its top 3 ASX 200 gold stocks.
The broker named Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) as its top pick.
The ASX 200 gold stock has rallied 54% in the past 12 months.
Looking forward, the broker said Northern Star Resources has the best growth outlook, and lifted its price target 13% from $24 to $27.
Macquarie said Northern Star is the most attractively valued on a price to net asset value (P/NAV) basis at 1.2x.
Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) was named its next preferred ASX 200 gold stock.
Newmont shares have surged 67% in a year.
Macquarie explained that "NEM has the most EPS upside averaging 41% over CY25-CY29 noting the company is relatively high-cost and is completely unhedged."
The broker increased its price target 17% to $130 on Newmont shares.
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) was named Macquarie's third-favourite ASX 200 stock.
Evolution Mining shares have rocketed around 144% over the past year.
As for the future, Macquarie believes the stock has further to run, lifting its price target by 9% to $7.60.
Macquarie noted that Evolution Mining's third-place ranking was based on valuation grounds. Macquarie said the stock is currently trading on the highest P/NAV of its covered gold equities at 1.9x.
