Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Price Target Raised to $23.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the gold and copper producer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on GOLD. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. National Bank Financial upgraded Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.79.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

GOLD stock traded down $1.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.03. The company had a trading volume of 8,832,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,988,457. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of $15.11 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.03. 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 market cap of $31.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Barrick Gold by 55.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,193 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.