Looking for dirt cheap UK shares to buy? Here’s what I think is one of the best FTSE 250 shares to consider today.
Silver’s soaring
Gold’s relentless journey from fresh record highs to a new all-time peak has grabbed the headlines. This isn’t a shock, given the size of the bullion market, the metal’s role as a bellwether of the broader economy, and the huge sentimental attachment people have to the yellow metal.
What’s garnered less attention is silver’s steady rise. Gold’s less-popular, safe-haven cousin has risen 29% in value since the beginning of 2025. And on Wednesday (18 June), it breached $37 per ounce for the first time since 2012.
Like gold, I think silver prices could have much further to go as fears over the geopolitical landscape grow and macroeconomic jitters persist. In fact, given the current gold-silver ratio — which measures how many ounces of silver are needed to buy one ounce of gold — I think the grey metal could outperform its more popular cousin.
Today, the gold-silver ratio sits at 91:1, which is significantly above the long-term average around 60:1.
Investors can purchase a silver-tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF) if they believe prices will continue rising. Or they can buy shares in producers of the flight-to-safety metal to indirectly profit.
Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) is one such share I think’s worth serious attention. It makes around 30% of sales from silver and the remainder from gold, putting it in a strong position to capitalise on additional price gains.
Reward vs risk
Investing in mining shares over a commodity-tracking ETF carries greater risk. Indeed, Hochschild this month suspended mineral processing at its Mara Rosa mine in Brazil for six weeks due to heavy seasonal rainfall.
But purchasing mining stocks can also have supersized benefits. For one, their share prices can outperform gold and silver as producers enjoy operational leverage — small increases in metal prices can generate much larger profit increases as their costs are largely fixed.
Some companies also offer a dividend which, unlike physical gold and silver or a price-tracking fund, provides investors with an additional passive income. Hochschild offers solid dividend yields of 1.7% and 2.8% for 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Too cheap right now?
Hochschild’s shares have fallen sharply following those issues at Mara Rosa, so it trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9 times. That’s significantly below the corresponding ratio of 18.1 times for FTSE 100 gold and silver miner Fresnillo.
On top of this, Hochschild’s price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio for 2025 is 0.1. Any reading below 1 indicates that a share’s undervalued relative to expected profits.
Such readings make the FTSE 250 company an attractive dip buy, in my opinion. I’m confident precious metal prices can continue climbing rapidly, fuelled by economic and geopolitical factors and a steady drop in the US dollar. Silver’s role as both industrial and investment metal could also help Hochschild gain momentum once the global economy improves.
And with Mara Rosa ramping up, and construction set to begin at the soon-to-be-acquired Monte Do Carmo mine, the company could be in top shape to exploit strong gold and silver prices.
