Allianz SE Purchases Shares of 2,176,280 Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,176,280 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock, valued at approximately $33,726,000. Barrick Gold accounts for approximately 0.9% of Allianz SE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOLD. Raymond James dropped their target price 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. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 2.3 %

GOLD stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.05. The company has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 6.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

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

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.