Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Price Up 1.5% - Should You Buy?

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX rose 1.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.94 and last traded at $20.46. Approximately 7,336,235 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 23,992,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GOLD. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 5th. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.94. The company has a market cap of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Barrick Gold by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 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.