Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Price Target Raised to $23.50

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price objective boosted by Raymond James from $23.00 to $23.50 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 20.98% from the company’s current price.

GOLD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.71.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 1.5 %

Barrick Gold stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.42. 12,553,666 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,789,118. 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 company has a market cap of $33.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.03. Barrick Gold has a 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.