Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B) (TSE:ABX) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 5,449,088 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 174% from the previous session’s volume of 1,985,581 shares.The stock last traded at $19.95 and had previously closed at $20.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on B shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.03 and a 200-day moving average of $17.81.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.08%.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.82% of the company’s stock.

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.