Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Up 0.7%

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) were up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.80 and last traded at $16.71. Approximately 4,195,846 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 21,946,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Barrick Gold in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Barrick Gold in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform overweight” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.48. The firm has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The gold and copper producer reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 4.88% and a net margin of 12.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Barrick Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 48.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Barrick Gold by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,680,644 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,821,963,000 after purchasing an additional 37,128,653 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 58,820,050 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $978,766,000 after acquiring an additional 14,138,639 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 80,933,517 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,464,070,000 after acquiring an additional 7,150,142 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,479,229 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $821,790,000 after acquiring an additional 6,417,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 198.3% in the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 9,606,218 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $173,727,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,566 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently 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.