Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Down 2.9%

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX)’s share price dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.81 and last traded at $16.81. Approximately 8,041,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 22,825,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GOLD. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Barrick Gold in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.06.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 4.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.074 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 175.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 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.