Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Barrick Gold (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.32.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE B traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.83. 18,790,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,310,797. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold has a 52 week low of $17.41 and a 52 week high of $47.50. The stock has a market cap 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 (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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 136.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,293,792 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $516,055,000 after purchasing an additional 19,189,830 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $172,225,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $996,802,000 after purchasing an additional 9,598,292 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,815,946 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $105,692,000 after purchasing an additional 4,791,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $57,991,000. 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.