Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Up 5.1% After Dividend Announcement

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) shares were up 5.1% on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $18.23 and last traded at $17.94. Approximately 9,745,724 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 19,926,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.07.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is presently 43.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOLD. CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.83.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 13.19%. Analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrick Gold Company 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.