Scotiabank Boosts Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Price Target to $22.00

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price target upped by analysts at Scotiabank from $20.00 to $22.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on GOLD. Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 5th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.21.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $20.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold has a twelve month low of $15.11 and a twelve month high of $21.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.62 and its 200 day moving average is $17.92. The company has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts forecast that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

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.