Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.67.

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOLD shares. Bank of America cut Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank cut Barrick Gold from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOLD. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,163 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 25,659 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 64,085 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 42,973 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GOLD traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.96. The company had a trading volume of 29,052,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,482,404. The company has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold has a 1 year low of $14.25 and a 1 year high of $21.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.17.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 13.19%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.01%.

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.