Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) Stock

Barrick Gold (NYSE:B - Free Report) TSE: ABX had its price target hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the gold and copper producer's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on B. TD Securities reduced 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.32.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of B traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.83. The company had a trading volume of 18,790,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,298,897. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $34.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.27. Barrick Gold has a one year low of $17.41 and a one year high of $47.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $19.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.86.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.15 billion. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of B. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 21.8% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 0.5% during the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 114,572 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 28,724 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in Barrick Gold by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 47,544 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 56,394 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% 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.