Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Trading Up 0.4% - Here's Why

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.20 and last traded at $19.13. Approximately 3,733,467 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 21,548,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GOLD shares. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.91. The company has a market cap of $32.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's payout ratio is 32.52%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOLD. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 55,875 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $517,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 49,700 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $9,630,000 after buying an additional 80,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.