Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) Stock Rating Lowered by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) (NYSE:ABX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Barrick Gold from C$67.50 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Barrick Gold from C$58.00 to C$56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Barrick Gold from C$55.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup upgraded Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Barrick Gold from C$68.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Barrick Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$67.67.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of Barrick Gold stock traded up C$0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching C$57.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,666,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,231,271. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.15. The company has a market capitalization of C$95.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$59.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$57.12. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of C$42.62 and a 1-year high of C$74.00.

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) (NYSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The basic materials company reported C$1.17 earnings per share for the quarter. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 31.60% and a return on equity of 24.57%. The firm had revenue of C$6.06 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrick Gold

In other news, insider Darian Kevin Rich sold 75,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$67.99, for a total value of C$5,129,981.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 235,252 shares in the company, valued at C$15,994,783.48. This represents a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mark Francis Hill sold 174,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$59.47, for a total transaction of C$10,394,047.66. Following the sale, the director directly owned 125,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$7,488,105.58. This represents a 58.13% decrease in their position. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick is a leading global mining, exploration and development company. With one of the largest portfolios of world-class and long-life gold and copper assets in the industry – including six of the world’s Tier One gold mines -Barrick’s operations and projects span 18 countries and five continents. Barrick is also the largest gold producer in the United States. We create real, long-term value for all stakeholders through responsible mining, strong partnerships and a disciplined approach to growth.