Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) (NYSE:ABX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Barrick Gold from C$31.00 to C$33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight Capital raised their price objective on Barrick Gold from C$36.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Securities restated a buy rating and set a C$34.00 price objective on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$30.18.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 0.8 %

TSE:ABX opened at C$27.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.54. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of C$18.65 and a 1-year high of C$28.47. The firm has a market capitalization of C$47.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$25.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$23.29.

Barrick Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.138 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from Barrick Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.41%.

Insider Transactions at Barrick Gold

In other news, Senior Officer Riaan Grobler sold 94,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.99, for a total transaction of C$1,784,693.40. In related news, Director Andrew James Quinn sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$23.00, for a total value of C$828,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Riaan Grobler sold 94,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.99, for a total value of C$1,784,693.40. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation engages in the exploration, mine development, production, and sale of gold and copper properties in Canada and internationally. The company also explores and sells silver and energy materials. It has ownership interests in producing gold mines located in Argentina, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Mali, Tanzania, and the United States.