Amundi Buys 236,116 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Amundi raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,120,278 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 236,116 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.82% of Barrick Gold worth $223,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 184,897 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $3,678,000 after acquiring an additional 55,051 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter worth about $337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 80,366 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 28,777 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,475 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

GOLD stock opened at $18.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Corp has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.12.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on GOLD shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

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.