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Silver is a notoriously volatile metal capable of wide price swings in either direction.
However, the metal is also seen by many as a safe-haven investment and a hedge against inflation. While investing in silver bullion is one popular method for gaining exposure, silver-mining companies offer another route.
Silver-mining companies with strong balance sheets and experienced management teams are able to capitalize on high silver prices and weather the storm of low silver prices. Some of the most profitable silver-mining companies are even able to offer investors dividends, which may be appealing for those who are in it for the long haul.
Dividends are especially attractive in the often-unstable mining sector because they give investors a degree of security — if a company pays a dividend, it generally feels that it has the cash to do so, and believes it will have the ongoing profits it needs to keep those payments coming.
There are several dividend-paying silver stocks for investors to choose from. The companies below are ordered by dividend yield, and all data is current as of October 24, 2024.
1. Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS)
TSX market cap: C$12.84 billionNYSE market cap: US$9.19 billionDividend yield: 1.54 percent
Founded by Ross Beaty in 1994, Pan American Silver currently operates four primary silver mines, which are located in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. It also has a portfolio of gold mines that also contribute silver production.
Last year, Pan American Silver completed the successful acquisition of Yamana Gold, bringing the latter’s four producing Latin American precious metals assets into Pan American’s portfolio.
The company’s 2023 silver production came in at 20.4 million ounces alongside 882,900 ounces of gold. For Q1 2024 and Q2 2024, output reached a combined total of 9.58 million ounces of silver and 225,700 ounces of gold. Production is expected to increase in the second half of the year.
The highest dividend Pan American has ever paid is US$0.125 per share, and it was able to pay a dividend of that amount a noteworthy nine times in a row between March 18, 2013, and March 13, 2015. The silver stock paid its most recent quarterly dividend on August 30, 2024, at US$0.10 per share.
2. Fresnillo (LSE:FRES,OTC Pink:FNLPF)
LSE market cap:GBP 3.82 billionDividend yield: 1.11 percent
Major miner Fresnillo bills itself as the world’s leading primary silver producer and a significant gold producer. Its precious metals operations are all located in Mexico, include the Fresnillo mine, which is the largest primary silver mine in the world. It also holds a portfolio of exploration prospects in the country and silver streaming contracts.
Fresnillo’s attributable output from its mines for the full-year 2023 came to 53.5 million ounces of silver and 610,600 ounces of gold. The company’s reported mine production for the the first three quarters of the year comes to 41 million ounces of silver and 427,631 ounces of gold.
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 cash flow. Dividends from the company are paid in pounds sterling unless shareholders elect to be paid in US dollars. Fresnillo paid its 2024 interim dividend of 5.0063 pence, or US$0.064, on September 17, 2024.
3. Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM)
TSX market cap: C$42.34 billionNYSE market cap: US$30.45 billionDividend yield: 0.88 percent
Wheaton Precious Metals is a well-known name in the silver space largely because of its business model — it is the world’s biggest precious metals streaming company. Streaming companies operate differently from miners, making upfront payments to a variety of metals companies in order to gain the right to purchase all or a portion of their metal production at a low, fixed cost.
The company currently has streaming agreements in place for 18 operating mines and 27 development-stage projects. It is interested in companies operating in politically stable jurisdictions, and states that its value should rise with the price of silver and gold. As a result, Wheaton sees itself offering investors multiple benefits while reducing many of the downside risks that traditional miners face.
Wheaton has paid out a dividend US$0.15 per share three times so far in 2024, with the latest on September 4, 2024.
4. Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM,NYSE:SVM)
TSX market cap: C$1.43 billionNYSE market cap: US$1.02 billionDividend yield: 0.52 percent
Silvercorp Metals operates the Gaocheng and Ying silver-mining operations in China, and is focused on acquiring and growing underdeveloped projects with high upside.
Its fiscal year 2024 silver equivalent production came in at approximately 6.8 million ounces, down 2 percent from the previous year. The company has reported a total of 3.4 million ounces of silver equivalent production over the first and second quarters of its fiscal year 2025.
Silvercorp offers shareholders a semiannual dividend, which it states is “based on a number of factors including commodity prices, market conditions, financial results, cash flows from operations, expected cash requirements and other relevant factors.” Its most recent dividend was paid on June 27, 2024, at a rate of US$0.0125 per share.
5. Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)
NYSE market cap: US$4.4 billionDividend yield: 0.45 percent
Last on this list of silver stocks that pay dividends is Hecla Mining, the largest primary silver producer in the US and Canada and the third largest in the world. The oldest precious metals miner in North America, Hecla owns the Greens Creek and Lucky Friday silver mines in Alaska and Idaho, US, and the Keno Hill mine in the Yukon, Canada. It also operates the Casa Berardi gold-silver mine in Québec, Canada.
With the acquisition of Alexco Resource in 2022, Hecla gained its position in the Keno Hill silver district, which has Canada’s highest-grade silver reserves. The following year, Hecla acquired ATAC Resources, giving it control of the Rackla and Connaught properties in the Yukon.
Hecla reported 2023 production of 14.3 million ounces of silver and 151,259 ounces of gold. As for 2024, the company produced a combined 8.65 million ounces of silver and 74,822 ounces of gold through the first two quarters. The Keno Hill mine is currently ramping up to commercial production.
Hecla pays an annual minimum common stock dividend, distributing it on a quarterly basis. The silver stock also pays a silver-price-linked common stock dividend based on the company’s average realized silver price for the preceding quarter.
On September 5, 2024, Hecla paid out a quarterly cash dividend of $0.01375 per share of common stock ($0.00375 per share for the minimum dividend component plus $0.01 per share for the silver-linked component). Then, on September 16, it paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.875 per share of preferred stock.
FAQs for silver dividend stocks
What are dividend stocks?
Dividend stocks regularly pay a sum of money to a class of shareholders out of the company’s earnings. To qualify for a dividend payout, an investor must have owned the stock on the ex-dividend date.
Dividends are often issued as cash payments sent to a shareholder’s brokerage account, but can also be issued as stock or discounts on share purchases.
How to invest in dividend stocks?
Contact your broker to learn more about how to take advantage of companies offering dividend programs. Some dividend stocks may also offer a dividend reinvestment program, allowing shareholders to automatically buy new shares with their dividends, either commission-free or at a reduced cost.
How much do dividend stocks pay?
A company’s board of directors is responsible for setting a dividend policy and will determine the size of the dividend payout based on the firm’s long-term revenue outlook.
The size of an individual shareholder’s dividend payout depends on the number of shares owned in that company. For example, if an investor owned 1,000 shares of Wheaton Precious Metals, which is currently paying a dividend of US$0.15 per share, they would get US$150 every quarter — or US$600 annually.
What Silver ETFs pay dividends?
There are no physical backed Silver ETFs with dividends. However, ETFs that track dividend-paying silver stocks such as those listed above may offer the potential for dividend income. A few examples of are Global X Silver Miners ETF (ARCA:SIL), and IShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (BATS:SLVP).
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
