LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656,707 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after buying an additional 33,206 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $10,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 196.9% during the 4th 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 period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GOLD shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 9.0 %

GOLD stock opened at $17.64 on Friday. Barrick Gold Corp has a one year low of $15.11 and a one year high of $21.35. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.17 and its 200 day moving average is $18.01. The firm has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.