Madison Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $9.76 Million Investment in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 629,500 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,757,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 19.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,073,717 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $78,637,000 after buying an additional 128,203 shares in the last quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Crocodile Capital Partners GmbH now owns 1,460,000 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $22,630,000 after purchasing an additional 720,000 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 36.5% in the third quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 604,199 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $12,018,000 after purchasing an additional 161,688 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $700,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOLD. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on 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 lowered Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, CIBC lowered Barrick Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 2.2 %

Barrick Gold stock opened at $18.86 on Friday. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $0.25 and a fifty-two week high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $32.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.05.

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

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.