Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 671,039 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,915 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $10,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 19.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $9,630,000 after buying an additional 80,366 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,073,717 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $78,637,000 after purchasing an additional 128,203 shares during the last quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH now owns 1,460,000 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $22,630,000 after purchasing an additional 720,000 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 604,199 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $12,018,000 after purchasing an additional 161,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $700,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $19.41 on Thursday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52 week low of $0.25 and a 52 week high of $21.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.05. The company has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GOLD shares. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities dropped 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.