Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Trading 1.1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX's stock price shot up 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.31 and last traded at $19.28. 6,732,486 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 24,249,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $18.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $9,630,000 after buying an additional 80,366 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,073,717 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $78,637,000 after acquiring an additional 128,203 shares during the period. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH now owns 1,460,000 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $22,630,000 after purchasing an additional 720,000 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $700,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 278,717 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $4,320,000 after acquiring an additional 17,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.85% 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.