Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.25 and last traded at $21.25, with a volume of 470037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on GOLD shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.60.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.24. The company has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 5.53% and a net margin of 12.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.78%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 198.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 628.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Barrick Gold during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.