Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price objective increased by Raymond James from $23.00 to $23.50 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Canada raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.71.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

GOLD stock opened at $19.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. Barrick Gold has a 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month high of $21.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,299,834 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,182,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,361 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,358,533 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,060,036,000 after buying an additional 1,195,585 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $996,802,000 after buying an additional 9,598,292 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 136.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,293,792 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $516,055,000 after buying an additional 19,189,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,318,376 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $237,280,000 after buying an additional 278,292 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.