Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Raised to "Buy" at UBS Group

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX was upgraded by UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm currently has a $22.00 price objective on the gold and copper producer's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.91% from the stock's current price.

GOLD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

NYSE GOLD opened at $17.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold has a 12-month low of $15.11 and a 12-month high of $21.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.16.

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

Barrick Gold declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 184,897 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $3,678,000 after acquiring an additional 55,051 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 32.3% in the third quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 16,400 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 19.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $9,630,000 after purchasing an additional 80,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.