Royal Bank of Canada Raises Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Price Target to $23.00

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

GOLD has been the subject of several other research reports. 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 report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

GOLD opened at $17.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.98. Barrick Gold has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

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

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrick Gold

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Barrick Gold during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 6.9% during the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 31,798 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 55.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $2,868,000. 62.85% of the stock is 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.