Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Price Target Cut to $17.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $21.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on GOLD. National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Canada raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Barrick Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.71.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of GOLD opened at $19.41 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.92 and a 200-day moving average of $18.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. Barrick Gold has a 1 year low of $15.11 and a 1 year high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 93,622 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,117 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 16.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 18,793 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the third quarter worth about $517,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Barrick Gold by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,730 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $16,890,000 after purchasing an additional 194,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. 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.