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This list ranks gold dividend stocks in the mining sector by dividend yield. And it also includes one of our top gold stock recommendations of 2017...
| Gold Dividend Stock | Share Price | Year-to-Date Performance | Dividend Yield (as of June 30) |
| DRDGOLD Ltd. (NYSE ADR: DRD) | $3.19 | -39.7% | 10.24% |
| Sibanye Gold Ltd. (NYSE ADR: SBGL) | $4.70 | -33.4% | 5.98% |
| Harmony Gold Mining Co. (NYSE ADR: HMY) | $1.62 | -26.7% | 4.56% |
| Gold Fields Limited (NYSE ADR: GFI) | $3.41 | +13.3% | 2.73% |
| Randgold Resources Ltd. (Nasdaq ADR: GOLD) | $87.68 | +14.9% | 1.89% |
| Franco Nevada Corp. (NYSE: FNV) | $72.39 | +21.1% | 1.27% |
| Royal Gold Inc. (Nasdaq: RGLD) | $76.85 | +21.3% | 1.25% |
| Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO) | $2.58 | -19.9% | 1.16% |
| Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) | $15.90 | -0.5% | 0.75% |
| Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) | $13.02 | -4.4% | 0.62% |
Six of the 10 gold stocks listed above have posted negative returns so far in 2017. The main reason behind their losses has to do with gold price volatility.
The volatile price of gold this year is due to the overall strengthening U.S. economy. When the economy is strong, investors buy more stock instead of stashing money in safe-haven investments like gold and gold stocks.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL), the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 4.4% in April to 4.3% in May. That was the lowest level since 2001. Also, the DoL reported 138,000 jobs were added last month - a 1.6% increase from May 2016. That labor market strength was enough to allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates three times this year.
The strengthening economy and Fed rate hikes have led to three different gold price slumps and rebounds this year.
The first slump started in February. The price of gold started 2017 off with a 9.3% rally up until its Feb. 27 peak. But it fell 4.6%, from $1,259 to $1,201 on March 15, as investors prepared for the first interest rate hike of the year.
Looming rate hikes often pull gold prices lower because higher interest rates boost the U.S. dollar, which lowers the demand of dollar-priced metals like gold to other currency users.
The second decline in gold prices was 6% from the April 18 peak of $1,294 to the May 9 bottom of $1,216. This loss was mostly due to the Dow Jones' steady 2.2% climb over the period, which softened investor interest in safe-haven gold. But the metal climbed 6.7% from that bottom to another peak of $1,298 on June 6.
Finally, the third noticeable gold price drop is happening right now. The most recent rate hike on June 14 has dragged prices 2.4% lower, from $1,276 on June 14, to $1,245 today (Friday, June 30).
But despite any volatility in gold prices so far this year, gold dividend stocks are still strong income investments. Nine of the 10 companies in the list above haven't cut their dividends in 2017. In fact, Gold Fields Limited actually raised its quarterly dividend by 66.7% from $0.03 per share to $0.05 in March.
Don't Miss: An incredibly rare gold anomaly is shaping up in the markets as we speak -- one that has occurred ONLY twice in the past 20 years. And it's about to happen again. Details here...
While we don't advise investing in just any gold stock with a generous dividend, one of the stocks listed above happens to be one of Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon's favorite picks of the year. This company is one of the world's largest gold miners, and Thomson Reuters analysts predict its stock could rally as much as 69% in the next 12 months on top of its income-generating dividend.
Here's one of the best gold stocks to buy in 2017...
