Amundi Buys 236,116 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Amundi increased its stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,120,278 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,116 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $223,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOLD. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 184,897 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 55,051 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $9,630,000 after acquiring an additional 80,366 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 28,777 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,475 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $18.61 on Monday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.86 and a 200 day moving average of $18.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89.

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

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

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

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.