Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Given New $17.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $21.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.71.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.3 %

Barrick Gold stock opened at $19.41 on Monday. Barrick Gold has a 1 year low of $15.11 and a 1 year high of $21.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.02. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, 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 (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 93,622 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,117 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 16.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 18,793 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 29.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,730 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $16,890,000 after buying an additional 194,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $463,000. 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.