Barrick Gold Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GOLD)

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 64,396 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the typical volume of 50,330 call options.

Barrick Gold Stock Up 1.0 %

GOLD opened at $17.90 on Thursday. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of $13.76 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.50. The company has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is currently 43.01%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the first quarter worth $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 198.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Barrick Gold by 628.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOLD. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.90.

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.