Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stifel Canada

Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Stifel Canada also issued estimates for Barrick Gold's FY2025 earnings at $1.41 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.55 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.33 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.44 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOLD. TD Securities lowered their price target on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised Barrick Gold from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Remove Ads

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GOLD traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $18.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,732,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,564,067. Barrick Gold has a 12 month low of $0.25 and a 12 month high of $21.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to repurchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 31.4% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,830 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 128.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 174,304 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $3,467,000 after acquiring an additional 98,086 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.4% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 87,217 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 24.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,896 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company's stock.

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.