Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Price Down 4.3% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX dropped 4.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $18.79 and last traded at $19.11. Approximately 17,353,246 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 21,678,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOLD. Raymond James raised their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $32.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. Research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GOLD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 0.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 56,394 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 6.1% during the first quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,110 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Barrick Gold by 55.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% 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.