Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Short Interest Down 5.9% in September

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) saw a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,847,500 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the August 31st total of 16,833,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,727,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE GOLD traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $19.86. The stock had a trading volume of 6,058,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,294,441. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.01. Barrick Gold has a twelve month low of $13.76 and a twelve month high of $21.21. The firm has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 5.53% and a net margin of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Barrick Gold will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GOLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. CIBC lifted their price target on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrick Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Edge Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Barrick Gold by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 38,999 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 3.5% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 25,119 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.4% during the first quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 36,519 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 21,445 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Barrick Gold

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.