Five Uranium Investments to Buy as Prices Head Sky High

Five uranium investments to buy as prices for the silvery-grey metal head toward the sky feature both funds and stocks.

The five uranium investments to buy are riding a wave of rising uranium prices that have reached $106 per pound, the highest level since 2007, when the chemical element used in fueling nuclear energy attained its all-time apex of $136 per pound in June of that year. Uranium prices spiked briefly in 2007 when enthusiasm for nuclear energy erupted and the world’s biggest mine for the metal flooded.

The price per pound has jumped 147% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2023, the price of uranium jumped 90% amid a spike in demand that cannot be met by the current limited supply.

Five Uranium Investments to Buy Amid Limited Supply

Aside from uranium supply chain challenges, other reasons for the growing interest include nuclear expansion plans around the world and geopolitical tensions with Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine and the breakout of a war in the Middle East touched off by a horrific Hamas attack of Israel on Oct. 7 that killed roughly 1,200 people. Those factors combine to continue upward pressure on uranium prices.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded to the terrorist act by entering neighboring Gaza where the militants had originated before they took an estimated 250 hostages from their homes in Israel. Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen that support the Palestinians have subsequently fired upon Israel to widen the conflict that has caused more than 25,000 deaths in Gaza since October.

Despite uranium mining operations seeking to restart and several resuming production, supply will take time to ramp up. BofA Global Research forecasts that current uranium supply-and-demand imbalances will persist with deficits projected through the rest of 2024.

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: URA

Global X Uranium ETF (URA) has garnered nearly $900 million of investment inflows in the past 24 months compared to more than $1.3 billion in outflows from a popular clean energy fund, iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN), BofA wrote in a recent research note. Nuclear power is cleaner, cheaper and safer than “renewable” energy sources, the report added.

One fan of uranium investments during the past year has been Mark Skousen, PhD, a free-market economist who has headed the Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter for the last 44 years. Skousen not only has helped subscribers of his newsletter to profit from uranium, but he also has shared winning recommendations in his premium trading services TNT Trader and Fast Money Alert.

His Forecasts & Strategies subscribers were able to scoop up a profit of more than 10.32% in just 122 days, while his TNT Trader service only needed 98 days to notch returns of 39.94% in stock and 243.33% in option trades of uranium investments. Since 2018, uranium prices have outperformed other hard assets, including gold, Skousen wrote to his subscribers.

A global environmental conference in the United Arab Emirates, held last Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, addressed the effects of climate change and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More than 20 nations, including the United States, France, Japan and the United Kingdom, committed to tripling global nuclear energy generation by 2050.

But uranium prices also are jumping due to a short-term squeeze after Kazatomprom, the world’s biggest uranium miner, warned that it is likely to fall short of its production targets during the next two years.

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: Economist Seizes Opportunity

Global X Uranium Fund (URA) is up nearly 10% so far in 2024 to rank among the best-performing recommendations in his Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter. URA is an exchange-traded fund that has a diversified portfolio that invests in Cameco (NYSE:CCJ), NexGen Energy (NYSE: NXE), Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN: UEC), Denison Mines (NYSE: DNN), Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS: PALAF), as well as Energy Fuels (NYSEAMERICAN: UUUU).

“The fund also has an 11% position in physical uranium through the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust,” Skousen wrote to his subscribers. “It will provide greater stability and less risk when it comes to investing in uranium, which I believe has a bright future.”

Mark Skousen, head of Forecasts & Strategies and scion of Ben Franklin, talks to Paul Dykewicz.

Bob Carlson, the head of the Retirement Watch advisory service and a former pension fund chairman, also likes URA. Global X Uranium (URA), which seeks to track the Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Total Return Index. URA recently had 48 positions with 71% of the fund in the 10 largest positions. Top holdings recently consisted of Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Units (OTCM: SRUUF), NexGen Energy (NYSE: NXE), National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom JSC (F:OZQ), and Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC).

URA’s recent dividend yield reached 6.07%. The fund is up 9.04% in the past month, 25.44% during the last three weeks and 42.67% in the past 12 months.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: NLR

Another uranium ETF on the uptrend is VanEck Uranium + Nuclear Energy (NLR), a fund that launched in 2007 and aims to replicate the MVIS Global Uranium & Nuclear Energy Index, Carlson told me. NLR recently had 26 positions, and 57% of its holdings were in the 10 largest positions.

Bob Carlson, who heads Retirement Watch, answers questions from Paul Dykewicz.

Top NLR holdings at press time were PG&E (PCG), Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG), Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), Cameco and Paladin Energy (OTC: PALAF).

The dividend yield on the fund recently reached 4.56%. NLR is up 3.06% in the last month, 13.83% over three months and 36.31% during the past year.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: URNM

Sprott Uranium Miners (URNM) is another uranium fund to consider. It has not been around as long as the URA and NLR, but it does go back to late 2019, Carlson advised.

URNM tracks the North Shore Global Uranium Mining Index. However, income investors will not like that the fund pays negligible dividends.

It recently had 40 positions, with 75% of the fund in its 10 largest positions. The two biggest positions in the fund recently each composed more than 14% of the holdings: Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Units and National Atomic Co (OTC: NATKY) and Kazatomprom JSC. Other top positions included Cameco and Uranium Energy Corp.

URNM is very volatile. It had a total return of 52.08% in 2023, lost 55.93% in 2022 and gained 78.74% in 2021.

Recently, it was up 18.03% over the last four weeks, 24.19% over three months and 59.30% over 12 months.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: CCJ

Cameco Corp., of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is one of the world’s largest uranium producers. Its flagship McArthur River mine in Saskatchewan accounts for roughly 50% of its output in normal market conditions.

The pure-play uranium producer also operates uranium conversion and fabrication facilities. Plus, the company holds uranium reserves estimated to weigh more than 464 million pounds.

Jim Woods, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, co-heads Fast Money Alert.

Demand for uranium is surging, with nuclear power proving to be an efficient, carbon-free source of energy that is gaining a reputation as safe and clean, Skousen and his partner Jim Woods wrote to their subscribers in the Fast Money Alert trading service wrote to their subscribers.

“Let’s take advantage of this fission-fueled price spike,” the duo advised their Fast Money Alert subscribers last fall. They told their subscribers to take profits of about 5% slightly more than two months later.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: CW

Curtiss-Wright Corp. (NYSE: CW), a diversified manufacturing company headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, supplies key equipment for Boeing and Airbus aircrafts, defense products and nuclear energy plants.

Curtiss-Wright is also displaying growth in its nuclear energy business, Louie DiPalma, an aerospace analyst with Chicago-based investment firm William Blair, continued. The Infrastructure Bill (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act included roughly $36 billion aggregate dollars to be spent in facilitating nuclear reactor life extension and maintenance activities, for which Curtiss-Wright directly provides services, he added.

“We expect nuclear to be the largest source of growth for Curtiss-Wright over the next five years with construction in Eastern Europe over the next several years and the commercialization of small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2027-2028,” DiPalma opined.

In aerospace, the Boeing 737 MAX is currently producing at a rate of 31 per month and are transitioning to 38 per month for 2024 and seeks to reach roughly 50 per month in 2025-2026. While the 50 per month is lower than the prior expectation of 57 per month, Boeing inked a partnership agreement with key supplier Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) in late 2023, boosting the likelihood that it can reach and potentially exceed that target, wrote DiPalma.

“Coming out of the pandemic, the commercial aerospace segment has been performing very well and should continue with that trend,” wrote DiPalma, who rates SPR as “outperform.”

Curtiss-Wright also is involved in the defense business. Heightened geopolitical tensions in Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel should drive continued growth from the rearming of U.S. allies, DiPalma wrote. In late 2023, the Biden administration provided a $100 billion aid package to support Israel and Ukraine. That commitment, along with an increased defensive presence, should aid Curtiss-Wright, as funding increases spur heightened production of aviation, maritime and ground vehicles, DiPalma added.

Since the Russia-Ukraine War began in February 2022, total defense revenue collected by CW has “grown quite well,” DiPalma wrote. He forecast the company’s defense revenue growth at 10% in 2023 and 6.5% in 2024.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: Geopolitical Risk Rises

Geopolitical risk appears to be rising, based on escalating attacks in the world’s hot spots. However, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky gained a pledge of military supplies from Poland and its recently elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, Jan. 23. It marked Tusk’s first visit to a foreign capital since his election in October 2023.

“We had very productive talks in Kyiv with @DonaldTusk about all aspects of Ukrainian-Polish bilateral relations,” Zelensky tweeted. “We appreciate Poland’s unwavering support and the new military aid package for Ukraine, as well as a new form of cooperation aimed at larger-scale purchases for Ukrainian needs: a Polish loan for Ukraine. Prime Minister Tusk and I also discussed opportunities for future joint arms production. I thank Poland for supporting Ukraine.”

The meeting occurred on the same day that Russia launched around 40 missiles of various types in an attempt to evade Ukraine’s air defenses, Zelensky continued.

“We were able to intercept the majority of them, but there were still some hits,” Zelensky reported in a tweet. “Over 200 different objects were damaged: 130 residential buildings, all ordinary houses.”

At last count, 130 people were injured and received assistance. Unfortunately, 18 people were killed, Zelensky reported. The human toll of the attacks may rise as first responders search for additional victims in the rubble, he added.

“In Kharkiv, the rescue operation is still ongoing, and debris is still being cleared,” Zelensky tweeted. “This was a regular multi-story building where ordinary people lived.”

Five Uranium Investments to Buy: Middle East Mayhem

The Israeli army reported that 24 of its soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, Jan. 23, becoming the deadliest day for its forces since their ground operation began after the brutal Hamas assault on Oct. 7. The death toll included 21 reservists who died in an explosion caused by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by a militant squad to trigger the fatal blast, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official said.

The reservists were involved in a mission to allow residents of southern Israel to safely return to their homes after tens of thousands were evacuated following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Those reservists were killed in central Gaza close to the kibbutz of Kissufim on the Israeli side of the border, the IDF spokesman said.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported that 195 Palestinians were killed on the same day. When the 1,200 people killed in Israel on Oct. 7 are added to the more than 25,000 reported dead by Hamas in Gaza, along with about 220 on Jan. 13, the total loss of human life soon will approach 30,000.

World leaders are expressing concern about the deaths and escalating violence in the region. However, peace has proven to be elusive in the Middle East where militant groups like Hamas in Gaza have a goal of annihilating Israel and killing its people.

The five uranium investments to buy offer what looks to be temporary refuge from geopolitical risk for those who seek good places to put their money during a time of war.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, Guru Focus and other publications and websites. Attention Holiday Gift Buyers! Consider purchasing Paul’s inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The uplifting book is great gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for special pricing on multiple-book purchases or autographed copies! Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulDykewicz. He is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper, after writing for the Baltimore Business Journal and Crain Communications.