Natixis Buys 40,719 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Natixis grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX by 55.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,386 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock after acquiring an additional 40,719 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,299,834 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,182,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,358,533 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,060,036,000 after buying an additional 1,195,585 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $996,802,000 after buying an additional 9,598,292 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 136.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,293,792 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $516,055,000 after acquiring an additional 19,189,830 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,120,278 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $223,665,000 after acquiring an additional 236,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GOLD. UBS Group upped their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of GOLD traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.05. The stock had a trading volume of 17,025,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,610,338. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52 week low of $15.11 and a 52 week high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $32.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $18.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.93.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.