Keene & Associates Inc. Sells 6,358 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Keene & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,775 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 6,358 shares during the quarter. Barrick Gold makes up approximately 2.5% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $3,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GOLD opened at $18.38 on Wednesday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52-week low of $14.27 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.27 and a 200 day moving average of $18.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 5.82%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the gold and copper producer to repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOLD. UBS Group cut shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

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.