Newmont Mining Corp. $51 - New York symbol NEM

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $51 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 434.7 million; Market cap: $22.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) is one of the world’s largest producers of gold. It also mines copper, silver and zinc. Newmont aims to increase its exposure to gold. Its Canadian subsidiary Franco-Nevada Corp. recently sold shares to the public, and used the proceeds to pay Newmont $1.3 billion in cash for certain mining and oil and gas royalty assets. Newmont will use the cash to fund its $1.5 billion acquisition of Canadian gold mining company Miramar Mining Corp. Miramar’s Hope Bay Project in northern Canada is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in North America. Newmont’s earnings from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2007 jumped to $0.72 a share (total $325 million) from $0.09 a share ($42 million) a year earlier. Revenue rose 50%, to $1.65 billion from $1.1 billion. Newmont’s earnings in 2008 should grow to $2.12 a share, which implies a p/e of 24.1. It also trades at 14.8 times its projected cash flow of $3.45 a share. That’s high, but golds always trade at a premium to the market. The $0.40 dividend yields 0.8%. If you want to own a gold stock, Newmont is a buy.

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