Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GOLD. Raymond James upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Canada raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 9.0 %

GOLD stock opened at $17.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.01. Barrick Gold has a one year low of $15.11 and a one year high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

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

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 purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.