Principal Securities Inc. Raises Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 119.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 451.7% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 221.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 196.9% in 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 last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE GOLD opened at $18.46 on Thursday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 1 year low of $14.27 and a 1 year high of $21.35. The stock has a market cap of $31.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.51 and a 200 day moving average of $18.21. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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, sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOLD. CIBC lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Company 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.