Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX by 75.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 321,221 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock after purchasing an additional 138,351 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $4,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,558,410 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $70,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,214 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,620 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 21,568 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Seaview Investment Managers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Seaview Investment Managers LLC now owns 603,466 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $9,354,000 after acquiring an additional 81,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 114,386 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 40,719 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE GOLD opened at $19.05 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.93. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $32.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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