Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.06 Billion Stock Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,358,533 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195,585 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.96% of Barrick Gold worth $1,060,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOLD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Barrick Gold by 619.7% in the fourth 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. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Barrick Gold stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.85 and its 200-day moving average is $18.05. 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 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month high of $21.35.

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

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Canada upgraded Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.