Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on GOLD. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of GOLD stock opened at $17.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.17 and its 200-day moving average is $17.99. Barrick Gold has a 1 year low of $15.11 and a 1 year high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. Equities analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Barrick Gold in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 31,798 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Finally, Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $2,868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

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.