Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) Shares Up 2.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX traded up 2.6% during trading on Thursday after CIBC raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $24.00. CIBC currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Barrick Gold traded as high as $20.83 and last traded at $20.77. 2,753,192 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 2,551,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.24.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on B. National Bank Financial raised Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. TD Securities reduced their target price 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. Finally, National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in B. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 55.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.82% of the company's stock.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.92.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

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

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.