Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GOLD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Barrick Gold in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform overweight” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of GOLD stock opened at $16.69 on Friday. Barrick Gold has a 12 month low of $13.76 and a 12 month high of $20.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 4.64% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.074 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 175.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.