Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Downgraded to "Neutral" Rating by UBS Group

UBS Group cut shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $22.00 price objective on the gold and copper producer's stock, down from their previous price objective of $23.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GOLD. Argus upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of GOLD traded down $0.44 on Wednesday, hitting $19.84. 9,323,002 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,075,762. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50 day moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.36. Barrick Gold has a 1 year low of $13.76 and a 1 year high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 5.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Barrick Gold will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,163 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 25,659 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,890 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,185 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 112,850 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $2,245,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.