Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Trading 1.1% Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) traded up 1.1% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $16.58 and last traded at $16.54. 6,618,796 shares were traded during mid-day 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share.

Barrick Gold Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOLD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. CIBC decreased their price objective on Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Securities dropped their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 175.6% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.34.

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.