Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 68.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,000 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 433,500 shares during the quarter. Barrick Gold comprises approximately 0.9% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the period. BNP Paribas increased its stake 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 24.1% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GOLD shares. UBS Group downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. CIBC cut Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $18.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.17. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $14.27 and a fifty-two week high of $21.35. The company has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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

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.