153,009 Shares in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Purchased by Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 153,009 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,372,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 619.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 221.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOLD shares. CIBC lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $19.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52-week low of $0.25 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.05. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

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

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.