Excalibur Management Corp Reduces Holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Excalibur Management Corp lowered its stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,238 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 1,085 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 221.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 196.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE GOLD opened at $19.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, 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 current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12 month low of $0.25 and a 12 month high of $21.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.03.

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

Barrick Gold declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOLD shares. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.