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

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing 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 investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $9,630,000 after acquiring an additional 80,366 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 21.7% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 2,317,580 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $46,097,000 after purchasing an additional 413,012 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the third quarter worth about $3,711,000. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 330.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 99,240 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after buying an additional 76,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH now owns 1,460,000 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $22,630,000 after buying an additional 720,000 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GOLD shares. CIBC cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s 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 Stock Performance

NYSE GOLD opened at $18.77 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.17. Barrick Gold Corp has a twelve month low of $14.27 and a twelve 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 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 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 anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.