Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Stock Price Up 1.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) shares shot up 1.1% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $16.58 and last traded at $16.54. 6,618,796 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 23,051,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.36.

The gold and copper producer reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 4.64% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS.

Barrick Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from Barrick Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.06.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 175.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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.