Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Sterling Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 10,443 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOLD. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 619.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 196.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

GOLD stock opened at $20.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.91. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $15.11 and a fifty-two week high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Sell-side analysts predict that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GOLD shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Barrick Gold from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.05.

Barrick Gold 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.