Critical Survey: Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) versus RCF Acquisition (NYSE:RCFA)

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) and RCF Acquisition (NYSE:RCFA) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Barrick Gold has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RCF Acquisition has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Barrick Gold and RCF Acquisition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Barrick Gold	13.19%	5.82%	4.07%
RCF Acquisition	N/A	-79.90%	6.86%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Barrick Gold and RCF Acquisition”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Barrick Gold	$12.34 billion	2.31	$1.27 billion	$0.93	17.57
RCF Acquisition	N/A	N/A	$5.15 million	N/A	N/A

Barrick Gold has higher revenue and earnings than RCF Acquisition.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.8% of Barrick Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.6% of RCF Acquisition shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Barrick Gold shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.9% of RCF Acquisition shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Barrick Gold and RCF Acquisition, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Barrick Gold	0	4	7	0	2.64
RCF Acquisition	0	0	0	0	0.00

Barrick Gold currently has a consensus price target of $25.60, suggesting a potential upside of 56.67%. Given Barrick Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Barrick Gold is more favorable than RCF Acquisition.

Summary

Barrick Gold beats RCF Acquisition on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Nevada Gold Mines is the world’s largest gold mining complex.  Barrick owns and operates six Tier One gold mines:  Cortez, Carlin and Turquoise Ridge in Nevada, Loulo-Gounkoto in Mali, Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic.
 
It has gold and copper mines and projects in 13 countries in North and South America, Africa, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia. Barrick’s diversified portfolio spans the world’s most prolific gold districts and is focused on high-margin, long life assets.

About RCF Acquisition

RCF Acquisition Corp. does not have significant operations. It focuses to target assets or businesses of scale across the critical minerals value chain that are poised to benefit over the long-term from the substantial market opportunity created by the global energy transition. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Denver, Colorado.