Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.83.

GOLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. CIBC downgraded Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $132,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 142.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,215,136 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $18,835,000 after purchasing an additional 714,497 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Barrick Gold by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,999 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $169,261,000 after buying an additional 2,603,744 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 23,141 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 3,194 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 65,266 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 18,266 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

NYSE:GOLD opened at $18.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of $13.76 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 5.82%. On average, research analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.01%.

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.