Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Freedom Broker

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) (NYSE:ABX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ABX. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from C$51.00 to C$49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD decreased their price objective on Barrick Gold from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from C$90.00 to C$84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Barrick Gold from C$55.00 to C$58.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut their target price on Barrick Gold from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$66.27.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

ABX opened at C$53.36 on Thursday. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of C$43.33 and a 1-year high of C$74.00. The company has a market cap of C$87.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$59.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$57.07. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Barrick Gold news, insider Darian Kevin Rich sold 75,452 shares of Barrick Gold 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 transaction of C$5,129,981.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 235,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$15,994,783.48. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their position. Also, Director Mark Francis Hill sold 174,778 shares of Barrick Gold stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 125,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$7,488,105.58. This represents a 58.13% decrease in their position. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.