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Silver is valued both as an industrial metal and as a precious metal. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and photography. Many investors use it as a safe haven in times of economic turmoil and sometimes as a hedge against inflation. Silver mining companies are engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. These companies often mine for other metals and minerals besides silver, such as zinc, lead, copper, and gold. Silver is often a byproduct produced from mining these other metals. Some big names in the industry include Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM), Hecla Mining Co. (HL), and SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM). Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on silver and other precious metals have surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine beginning in February, although the impact may be different for silver mining companies.
Silver stocks, represented by the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), have significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year. SIL has provided a total return of -6.7% over the past 12 months, far below the benchmark Russell 1000’s total return of 8.3%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of March 10, 2022.
Here are the top three silver stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
These are the silver stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.
Source: YCharts
- Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.: Fortuna Silver Mines is a Canada-based mining company focused on silver mining in Latin America and West Africa. The company operates silver, lead, zinc, and gold mines. Fortuna Silver Mines trades in Canada under the ticker FVI.TO.
- Silvercorp Metals Inc.: Silvercorp Metals is a Canada-based mining company that acquires, explores, and develops mineral properties in China. The company produces silver, lead, and zinc metals. Silvercorp Metals trades in Canada under the ticker SVM.TO. The company’s fiscal Q3 FY 2022 ended Dec. 31, 2021. For that quarter, net income attributable to equity shareholders fell sharply by about 40% while revenue climbed by 10.9% year-over-year (YOY). The decrease in net income was primarily due to a mark-to-market charge of $8.5 million against equity and bond investments.
- Pan American Silver Corp.: Pan American Silver is a Canada-based mining company focused on the production of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper. The company’s mining activities include exploration, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation. Pan American Silver Corp. trades in Canada under the ticker PAAS.TO. On Feb. 24, the company declared a dividend of $0.12 per common share, payable on March 21 to shareholders of record as of March 7, 2022.
These are the top silver stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and their most recent quarterly YOY earnings-per-share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one or the other figure unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of over 2,500% were excluded as outliers.
| Fastest Growing Silver Stocks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | EPS Growth (%) | Revenue Growth (%) | |
| Silvercorp Metals Inc. (SVM) | 4.18 | 0.7 | -40.0 | 10.9 |
| Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (FSM) | 4.38 | 1.3 | N/A (see company description) | 94.8 |
| First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG) | 13.70 | 3.5 | N/A (see company description) | -1.4 |
Source: YCharts
- Silvercorp Metals Inc.: See above for company description.
- Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.: See above for company description. Because Fortuna Silver Mines’ EPS was negative for the quarter in question, a calculation of EPS growth is not possible for the table above.
- First Majestic Silver Corp.: First Majestic Silver is a Canada-based silver and gold producer that is engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the U.S. and Mexico. Because First Majestic Silver’s EPS was negative for the quarter in question, a calculation of EPS growth is not possible for the table above.
These are the silver stocks that had the highest total return over the past 12 months. Companies with total returns over 2,500% have been excluded as outliers.
| Silver Stocks with the Most Momentum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%) | |
| MAG Silver Corp. (MAG) | 18.51 | 1.8 | 12.6 |
| Discovery Silver Corp. (DSVSF) | 1.58 | 0.5 | -4.7 |
| Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS.TO) | CA$35.35 | CA$7.4 | -8.6 |
| Russell 1000 | N/A | N/A | 8.3 |
| Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) | N/A | N/A | -6.7 |
Source: YCharts
- MAG Silver Corp.: MAG Silver is a Canada-based mineral exploration and development company. Its focus is on the acquisition, exploration, and development of silver projects in Mexico. MAG Silver trades in Canada under the ticker MAG.TO. On March 11, MAG Silver announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Canada-based gold exploration company Gatling Exploration Inc. in an all-share transaction. Gatling is focused on advancing the Larder Gold Project, which hosts three high-grade gold deposits in Northern Ontario. Mag Silver said it bought Gatling at a 47.4% premium, but did not mention the total amount of the transaction in its announcement.
- Discovery Silver Corp.: Discovery Silver is a Canada-based exploration and development company. It targets silver projects in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Discovery Silver trades in Canada under the ticker DSV.V. On March 14, Discovery announced that it had appointed Anthony Esplin as chief operating officer. Esplin will begin working for the company on April 4. Previously, Esplin was executive managing director of Barrick Nuigini Ltd., an open pit/underground mining operation in Papua New Guinea.
- Pan American Silver Corp.: See company description above.
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