Brokerages Set Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Target Price at $23.71

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.79.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOLD shares. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Canada raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GOLD opened at $17.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.26 and a 200 day moving average of $17.94. The company has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

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.