Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 18,266 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,266 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,266 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $1,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,646 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Barrick Gold by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE GOLD opened at $19.11 on Monday. Barrick Gold Corp has a one year low of $15.11 and a one year high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. Research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOLD. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group upgraded 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. Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six 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, the company currently has a consensus 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.