Raymond James Upgrades Barrick Gold Stock Forecast

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) has received a positive update from Raymond James, with a report issued on Monday stating that the brokerage has increased its price target for the company's shares from $23.00 to $23.50. This revision signals a favorable outlook for the gold and copper producer's stock, which is now rated as "outperform" by Raymond James.

The new price target suggests a potential upside of approximately 20.98% from the stock's previous closing price, indicating strong confidence from analysts about Barrick Gold's market performance.

Recent Analyst Reports on Barrick Gold

Other financial institutions have also shared their insights regarding Barrick Gold. For instance, Citigroup reduced its price target from $23.00 to $17.00 while assigning a "neutral" rating on December 20. Meanwhile, on March 19, Stifel Canada elevated Barrick Gold to a "strong-buy" rating. Similarly, UBS Group upgraded the stock from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, establishing a price target of $22.00. In contrast, TD Securities decreased its price target from $24.00 to $23.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating. Additionally, Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating, bringing the target price down from $21.00 to $18.00.

In summary, six equity research analysts have assigned a hold rating to Barrick Gold, seven have given it a buy rating, and one analyst has assigned a strong buy rating. As of now, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" along with a consensus price target of $23.71.

Stock Performance Overview

On the day the report was released, shares of Barrick Gold rose by 1.5%, reaching $19.42. The trading volume for these shares was recorded at 12,553,666, which is lower than the average volume of 21,789,118. Barrick Gold has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 15.81, and a PEG ratio of 0.44. Furthermore, the stock has a beta of 0.58, indicating less volatility compared to the market overall.

Additionally, Barrick Gold has a 12-month low price of $15.11 and a high of $21.35. The company's financial ratios include a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89, with a notably low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Recent Earnings Report and Stock Buyback Program

Barrick Gold recently announced its quarterly earnings on February 12, where the company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.46, matching the consensus estimate. The firm boasts a net margin of 16.59% alongside a return on equity of 6.76%. Analysts are projecting that Barrick Gold will post an EPS of 1.47 for the current fiscal year.

In recent developments, the company's Board of Directors initiated a significant stock buyback program, allowing Barrick Gold to repurchase up to $1 billion worth of shares. This initiative will enable the company to buy back approximately 3.2% of its outstanding shares from the market, a move typically indicative of the Board's perspective on the stock being undervalued.

Institutional Ownership Trends

Institutional investors have made notable changes to their holdings of Barrick Gold. New positions have been established by several hedge funds, including Crowley Wealth Management, Vega Investment Solutions, and Strategic Investment Solutions, among others, all purchasing shares in the last quarter. Currently, institutional investors hold around 62.85% of the company's stock, reflecting a strong interest in Barrick Gold.

About Barrick Gold Corporation

Barrick Gold Corporation is recognized as a leading producer of gold and copper, with its shares traded on both the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX. Barrick merged with Randgold Resources in January 2019 and combined its Nevada gold mines with those of Newmont Corporation, forming the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, which is predominantly managed by Barrick.

Barrick, Gold, Stocks