Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 2,315 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,045 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 2,315 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

NYSE:GOLD opened at $20.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.49 and its 200 day moving average is $17.92. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $15.11 and a fifty-two week 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.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to repurchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOLD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.04.

Barrick Gold Company Profile

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.