Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Stock Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B)

Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:B) (TSE:ABX) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,700,606 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,697 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $41,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Barrick Gold by 19.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $9,630,000 after buying an additional 80,366 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,829 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Barrick Gold by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 231,375 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 46,478 shares in the last quarter. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on B. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.05.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of B opened at $18.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.73. The firm has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Barrick Gold Corp has a 1-year low of $17.41 and a 1-year high of $47.50.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:B) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Barrick Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 30.08%.

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

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.