Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $691.24 Million Stock Position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 44,620,159 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 2,558,707 shares during the quarter. Barrick Gold accounts for approximately 0.6% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $691,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 120.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 93,622 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,117 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $477,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 14.5% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 74,903 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Barrick Gold by 16.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 18,793 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the third quarter valued at $287,000. 62.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 2.3 %

Barrick Gold stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap 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 Corp has a twelve month low of $15.11 and a twelve month high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. As a group, analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GOLD shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Canada raised Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.