Topic: Growth Stocks

YAMANA GOLD $5.43

YAMANA GOLD $5.43 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www. yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 947.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) owns and operates 10 gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds a 12.5% stake in the Alumbrera copper/ gold mine in Argentina and has a number of other properties in advanced stages of development.

In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s gold production fell 1.9%, to 345,788 ounces from 352,572 a year earlier. The decline was the result of lower output at some of Yamana’s smaller mines.

Gold prices fell 8.2% in the latest quarter. That, plus the lower production, cut Yamana’s cash flow by 14.8%, to $150.5 million from $176.7 million. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Cash flow per share declined 20.0%, to $0.16 from $0.20, on more shares outstanding.

Yamana held cash of $137.8 million, or $0.15 a share, on December 31, 2015. Its $1.7 billion U.S. of debt is a manageable 41% of its market cap.

In February 2016, Yamana bought the Riacho dos Machados gold mine in Brazil for $51 million. The open-pit operation produces gold at a rate of 100,000 ounces per year.

To conserve cash, the company cut its dividend by 66.7% with the April 2016 payment, to $0.02 per year from $0.06. The stock now yields 0.5%.

Like most gold firms, Yamana’s shares will be heavily influenced by the direction of gold prices. But the stock does have speculative appeal thanks to the company’s positive cash flow and its increased production when its development projects start up.

Yamana Gold is a buy.

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