Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX)’s stock price was down 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.82 and last traded at $16.84. Approximately 5,297,845 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 21,298,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOLD. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.90.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.79 and a 200 day moving average of $18.48. The company has a market capitalization of $29.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.06.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Barrick Gold’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 43.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,761,067 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,077,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,572 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 18,837,028 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $314,254,000 after purchasing an additional 666,214 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,887,656 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $251,929,000 after buying an additional 1,231,184 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 3.3% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,546,530 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $242,491,000 after acquiring an additional 461,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 33.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,431,497 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $227,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854,055 shares during the last quarter. 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.