As of mid-June, the silver price was down about 1.3 percent over the last 12 months. While market watchers have been pleased to see the white metal generally trend upward from a low point at the beginning of 2016, it’s still got a long way to go to reach highs seen in 2011.
That’s why some investors are looking at silver stocks that pay dividends. A dividend is a sum of money that is paid regularly by a company to a class of its shareholders out of its earnings. Dividends are often issued as cash payments, but can also be issued as stock or other property.
With that in mind, here’s a brief overview of five silver stocks that pay dividends. They may be worth some attention as the silver price continues to rise. Companies are listed in descending order by market cap – if we missed a dividend-paying silver stock, please let us know in the comments!
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1. Fresnillo (LSE:FRES)
Market cap: US$14.4 billion
Major miner Fresnillo bills itself as the world’s leading primary silver producer. Its precious metals assets include the largest primary silver mine in the world, as well as an “exceptional portfolio of development projects and exploration prospects.”
This silver stock pays two dividends per year, and its dividend policy takes business profitability and underlying earnings growth into account, as well as capital requirements and cashflow. It paid its 2017 interim dividend of US$0.106 per share on September 8, 2017, and its final 2017 dividend of US$0.298 per share on June 4, 2018.
2. Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM)
Market cap: US$8.11 billion
Wheaton Precious Metals is a well-known name in the silver space, largely because of its business model – it’s the world’s largest precious metals streaming company, which means that it’s made upfront payments to a variety of companies in order to gain the right to purchase, at a low, fixed cost, all or a portion of the companies’ silver and gold production.
The company currently has streaming agreements in place for 17 operating mines and nine development-stage projects. It is interested in companies operating in politically stable jurisdictions, and states that it has growth potential as well as “[l]everage to increases in the price of silver and gold.” As a result, Wheaton Precious Metals sees itself as offering investors multiple benefits while reducing many of the downside risks that traditional mining companies face.
Wheaton Precious Metals pays a quarterly dividend, and its highest to date was US$0.14 per share on April 12, 2013. So far this year it has made paid one dividend – its Q1 dividend was US$0.09 per share.
3. Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS)
Market cap: US$2.7 billion
Founded by Ross Beaty in 1994, Pan American Silver currently has seven mines in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, plus six development projects in the US, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. Its 2017 revenues came to US$816.8 million, and its silver production came in at 25 million ounces in 2017. Its 2018 guidance is 25 to 26.5 million ounces.
The highest dividend Pan American has ever paid is US$0.125 per share. While that’s lower than Wheaton Precious Metals’ highest dividend, Pan American was able to pay a dividend of that amount a noteworthy nine times in a row, with the first time being March 18, 2013 and the last time being March 13, 2015. The silver stock paid its most recent quarterly dividend on March 16, 2018. The payment came to US$0.035 per share, up from US$0.025 per share in 2017.
4. Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)
Market cap: US$1.89 billion
Hecla Mining is the largest primary silver producer in the US, as well as an emerging gold producer. It is the oldest precious metals miner in North America, and owns operating silver mines in Alaska, Mexico and Idaho, as well as a Quebec-based gold mine.
The company’s most recent quarterly dividend payment came to US$0.002 per share on May 3, 2018. Its highest dividend payment on record is US$0.0125 per share, last paid on March 25, 2013. The company’s dividends are based on its average realized silver price for the preceding quarter. The silver stock also pays an annual minimum common stock dividend of US$0.01 per share.
5. Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM,NYSEMKT:SVM)
Market cap: US$463.61 million
Silvercorp Metals has multiple silver operations in China, and is focused on acquiring and growing underdeveloped projects with high upside. It sold 1.5 million ounces of silver, 700 ounces of gold, 15.8 million pounds of lead and 6.4 million pounds of zinc in the third quarter of the 2018 fiscal year.
Silvercorp had a spillage incident at its Ying mine on April 12, 2018, and mining was suspended. On May 1, 2018 the company announced that the milling operations had resumed at Ying.
The silver stock put its dividend back in place in November 2016, and credited its reinstatement to an improved cash position and better financial results. While the dividend was initially set to C$0.01 per share to be distributed semiannually, the company recently increased the rate by switching from Canadian dollars to US dollars. Its most recent dividend was dispensed on or before December 19, 2017 at a rate of US$0.01.
What’s your favorite silver stock? Does it pay a dividend?
This is an updated version of an article originally published by the Investing News Network in 2015.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Amanda Kay, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
The post 5 Silver Stocks that Pay Dividends appeared first on Investing News Network.
