Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Trading Up 5.1% Following Dividend Announcement

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX's stock price shot up 5.1% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $18.23 and last traded at $17.94. 9,745,724 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 19,926,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.07.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is 43.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on GOLD. UBS Group downgraded Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC cut shares of Barrick Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.67.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55. 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 is $16.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 5.82%. Analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.