Defensive Investors: 3 More Wealth-Protecting Gold Stocks Hitting New 52-Week Highs

Hi there, Fools. I’m back to call your attention to three stocks trading at new 52-week highs. Why? Because after a given stock rallies over a short period of time, one of two things usually happens: the stock keeps on climbing as momentum traders pile on or the stock quickly pulls back as value-oriented investors lock in gains.

Buy-and-hold is still the most reliable way to build wealth. But knowing how to play short-term swings can also help maximize your returns.

This week, we’ll take a look at three gold stocks, in particular, that have been on fire.

Let’s get to it.

Fly like an eagle

Leading off our list is Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM)(NYSE:AEM), which is up 13% over the past year and trading near its 52-week highs of around $66 per share.

The price of gold is soaring, but Agnico’s impressive scale and strong fundamentals are what make it a sustainable long-term play. In Q1, EPS of $0.14 topped expectations by $0.08, while revenue of $532.2 million beat estimates by $17 million.

Looking ahead, management sees full-year production of 1.75 million ounces of gold.

“Operationally, 2019 is off to a very good start with strong production and cost performance in the first quarter from Goldex, Kittila, Pinos Altos and Creston Mascota,” said CEO Sean Boyd.

Agnico shares are up 20% in 2019 and offer a dividend yield of 1.0%.

Golden cash flow

Next up, we have gold giant Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD), whose shares are up 18% over the past year and are currently trading at their 52-week highs of about $20.

In addition to the rising price of gold, Barrick’s appreciation has been supported by solid production and hefty cash flow generation. In Q1, production jumped 30% year-over-year to 1.36 million ounces on all-in sustaining costs of $825 per ounce. Moreover, Barrick generated $520 million in operating cash flow and $146 million in free cash flow.

“Considering the shortage of good assets and the industry’s under-investment in its own future, we believe we are well positioned as the industry’s value leader,” said President and CEO Mark Bristow.

Barrick shares are up 10% in 2019 and offer a yield of 1.1%.

Take a detour

Rounding out our list is gold miner Detour Gold (TSX:DGC), which is up 48% over the past year and trading near its 52-week highs of about $15 per share at writing.

Detour shares are particularly sensitive to the price of gold, so it’s an ideal way to play the yellow metal’s recent momentum. While production and costs have been disappointing in recent years, Detour’s latest results suggest that a turnaround is underway.

In Q1, the company produced 154,709 ounces of gold on all-in sustaining costs of $1,044 per ounce sold.

“I would expect that by year-end, we will start achieving predictable and consistent operational results and shift towards the optimization phase,” said CEO Frazer Bourchier.

Detour shares are up 31% in 2019.

The bottom line

There you have it, Fools: three red-hot stocks worth checking out.

As always, they aren’t formal recommendations. Instead, look at them as a starting point for further research. Momentum stocks are especially fickle, so plenty of your own due diligence is required.

Fool on.