Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Gap Down to $17.10

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.10, but opened at $16.37. Barrick Gold shares last traded at $16.70, with a volume of 8,074,532 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOLD. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, February 26th. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Barrick Gold in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 4.64% and a net margin of 11.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.074 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 175.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.