Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Short Interest Down 5.2% in March

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,479,900 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the March 15th total of 13,170,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 21,663,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOLD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Barrick Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Barrick Gold in a report on Monday, March 4th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Barrick Gold in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Barrick Gold in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 175.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of GOLD opened at $17.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.40. Barrick Gold has a one year low of $13.76 and a one year high of $20.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.18. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.58.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 4.64% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.074 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

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.