Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) rose 1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.01 and last traded at $16.96. Approximately 6,652,581 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 21,317,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOLD shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.90.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.69 and its 200-day moving average is $18.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOLD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,761,067 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,077,624,000 after buying an additional 1,089,572 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,712,508 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,088,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458,084 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 666,214 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 9.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,887,656 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $251,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,184 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $242,491,000 after acquiring an additional 461,406 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.