Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,461 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,848 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $8,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 221.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 24.1% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:GOLD opened at $17.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. Barrick Gold Corp has a 1-year low of $14.56 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOLD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities decreased their target price 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. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

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.