LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 656,707 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,206 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $10,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 29.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,730 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after purchasing an additional 194,130 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at $463,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 65,185 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 4,554 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 22,879 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,712,508 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,088,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,084 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of Barrick Gold stock opened at $17.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The company has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.17 and a 200 day moving average of $18.01.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOLD. Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James increased their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.79.

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.