Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - What's Next?

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 3,765,209 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 61% from the previous session's volume of 2,335,413 shares.The stock last traded at $20.06 and had previously closed at $19.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

B has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup lowered 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. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Barrick Gold has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 3.4%

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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.08%.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the first quarter worth $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.82% 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.