S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock, Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS), is marching higher today.
Ramelius Resources shares closed trading yesterday for $3.71. In late morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $3.74 apiece, up 0.7%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.
Today's outperformance is par for the course for Ramelius shareholders, with the ASX 200 gold stock now up 76.8% year to date, racing ahead of the 5.4% returns delivered by the benchmark index.
Atop those capital gains, Ramelius Resources shares also trade on a fully franked 2.1% trailing dividend yield.
The good news is that, according to the team at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), it's not too late to buy this surging ASX share.
We'll look at the broker's bullish assessment below.
But first…
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Why are Ramelius Resources shares outperforming today?
Ramelius Resources shares look to be getting a boost from this morning's announcement that the company has entered into a Tenement Sale and Purchase Agreement with Bulletin Resources (ASX: BNR).
The agreement will see Ramelius acquire three of Bulletin's Lake Rebecca Gold Project tenements, located in Western Australia, for $500,000 in cash.
The ASX 200 gold stock also enjoyed a big boost last week after announcing it intends to buy back up to $250 million in shares over the next 18 months. The board also revealed an increase in the minimum Ramelius dividend to 2.0 cents per share each year.
Commenting on the buyback program on the day, Ramelius Resources managing director Mark Zeptner said:
At the time of the release of our 5-Year Growth Pathway to 500koz, the Ramelius Board gave clear direction to management that we need to "maintain and grow" shareholder returns. We are demonstrating this today in the form of a A$250 million share buyback program and an increase in the minimum dividend payable.
Which brings us to…
Why Macquarie is tipping the ASX 200 gold stock for more outperformance
In a research report published on Friday, Macquarie sounded a bullish note on the gold miner's share buyback plans. Macquarie said:
Following the announcement of a A$250m share buyback (commences 24-Dec-25) we incorporate it into our forecasts which drives a 3% EPS increase in FY28/29/30E due to the lower share count.
Macquarie is also optimistic about the ASX 200 gold stock's recent exploratory drilling successes.
According to the broker:
Due to the encouraging exploration results from Penny we extend our LOM [life of mine] forecasts from 1QFY27 to 3QFY27 (+6mth increase) which drives a 4% uplift in our FY27E ore milled grades from 3.55g/t to 3.70g/t, with gold production increasing from 206koz to 214koz which is 2% above the mid-point of production for the 5-yr outlook in FY27.
Summarising its outperform rating on Ramelius Resources shares, Macquarie said, "RMS remains one of our mid-cap preferences due to its strong organic growth outlook, effective capital management framework, and asset divestment potential."
The broker increased its target price for the ASX 200 gold stock by 2% to $4.60 a share.
That represents a potential upside of 23% from current levels.
And it doesn't include those upcoming dividends.
