Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.45.

GOLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Barrick Gold from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Cibc World Mkts cut Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOLD. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:GOLD traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.76. The company had a trading volume of 18,212,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,453,318. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.35. The company has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.54. Barrick Gold has a 52 week low of $13.76 and a 52 week high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio 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.