5 Charts That Show Historic Value In Gold Stocks

Back in early 2016 as precious metals rebounded, our work showed that gold stocks were arguably the cheapest they had ever been. They had the worst 5-year and 10-year rolling performance ever, they were trading at potentially 40-year lows on a price to cash flow basis, they were the cheapest ever relative to the stock market and Gold and most notably, the Barron’s Gold Mining Index was trading at the same level as 42 years ago! The gold stocks enjoyed a massive recovery in 2016 but it was short lived as the sector corrected and then consolidated (far from the highs) for over a year. Although we have a tendency to be too conservative at times, over a month ago we noted a historical pattern that bodes extremely well for gold stocks over the next few years. That outlook is reinforced by the continued historic value in the gold stocks as exhibited by the following charts.

First, we focus on the long-term rolling performance in the gold stocks. The chart below plots the S&P TSX Gold Index (data obtained from Global Financial Data) along with its rolling 5-year and 10-year performance. By that metric, the gold stocks (going back +80 years) were the most oversold in late 2000 and early 2016. If we were to run a 15-year and 20-year rolling performance then the three most oversold periods would be late 2000, early 2016 and the late 1950s. The gold stocks enjoyed massive long-term returns from the late 1950s and the year 2000.

Next we compare the gold stocks to the stock market. We plot the S&P TSX Gold Index against the S&P 500. The ratio appears to be in position to form a double bottom or a higher low as compared to its 2016 low. The 2016 low (in the chart below) is second by a tick to the 2000 low as to when the gold stocks relative to the stock market were the cheapest ever. (However, the Barron’s Gold Mining Index against the S&P 500 did make an all-time low in January 2016). In any case, the gold stocks right now are likely trading at the 97th percentile (out of 100) as far as value relative to the stock market.