Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 500.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,349 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after buying an additional 121,155 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOLD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 221.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOLD. Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

GOLD opened at $18.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.14. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12-month low of $15.11 and a 12-month high of $21.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Equities analysts predict that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold 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.