Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of GOLD stock opened at $18.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold has a one year low of $14.27 and a one year high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.17.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.