Smith Moore & CO. Trims Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Smith Moore & CO. lowered its position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,738 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOLD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Canada raised Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bank Financial raised Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 9.0 %

NYSE GOLD opened at $17.64 on Friday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52 week low of $15.11 and a 52 week high of $21.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. As a group, research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.