HBW Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B)

HBW Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B - Free Report) TSE: ABX during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,598 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 90.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:B traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.00. 15,521,108 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,206,302. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $17.41 and a fifty-two week high of $47.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.25.

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

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Barrick Gold's payout ratio is 30.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

B has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.32.

Barrick Gold 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.