Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Buy” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $22.00 price target on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

GOLD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Securities cut their price target 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. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of Barrick Gold stock opened at $18.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. Barrick Gold has a one year low of $15.11 and a one year high of $21.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.16.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOLD. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 136.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,293,792 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $516,055,000 after purchasing an additional 19,189,830 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,225,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $996,802,000 after buying an additional 9,598,292 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 221.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,027,811 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $199,427,000 after buying an additional 6,904,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,815,946 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $105,692,000 after buying an additional 4,791,663 shares in the last quarter. 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.