Citigroup Lowers Barrick Gold's Price Target to $17.00

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) has received a significant adjustment to its price target from investment analysts at Citigroup. In a research report released on Friday, Citigroup reduced the target price for Barrick Gold shares from $23.00 to $17.00. This downgrade comes with a "neutral" rating for the company, suggesting that analysts do not foresee significant upward movement in the stock in the near term.

According to Citigroup's new price objective, there is a potential upside of approximately 8.97% compared to Barrick Gold's closing price prior to the announcement.

Recent Analyst Activity on Barrick Gold

In addition to Citigroup's report, Barrick Gold has been the subject of various evaluations from other financial institutions. On September 13th, Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target from $23.00 to $24.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating for the company. Conversely, on November 25th, Cibc World Markets downgraded Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating. That same day, CIBC lowered its rating from "sector outperform" to "neutral". In earlier analysis from August 29th, Argus raised Barrick Gold's rating from "hold" to "buy" and set a target price of $24.00. Meanwhile, on November 26th, TD Securities also cut its price target from $26.00 to $25.00 while issuing a "buy" rating.

Currently, five analysts consider Barrick Gold a hold, while eight have issued buy ratings, leading to an overall rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $24.82.

Market Activity and Stock Performance

On Friday, shares of Barrick Gold traded up by 2.4%, increasing by $0.37 to reach a price of $15.60. The trading volume for Barrick Gold shares was reported at 15,337,563, which is slightly lower than its average volume of 21,390,689. The company's financial ratios indicate a solid position, with a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.06, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock shows a fifty-day moving average price of $18.26 and a two-hundred-day moving average price of $18.48. Over the past year, Barrick Gold has fluctuated, with a low of $13.76 and a high of $21.35.

Institutional Investment Trends

Recent trends indicate increasing interest from institutional investors and hedge funds in Barrick Gold. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP has bolstered its position by 83.5% in the second quarter, now holding 6,146 shares worth approximately $102,000 after acquiring additional shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake by 1.2% and now owns 836,059 shares valued at about $13.94 million. Other firms like Solstein Capital LLC and Skylands Capital LLC also added to their positions significantly in the same period. In total, 62.85% of Barrick Gold's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong backing for the company.

Barrick Gold Overview

Barrick Gold Corporation is one of the leading producers in the gold and copper sector. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ABX. In 2019, Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and set up a significant joint venture known as the Nevada Gold Mines, combining its assets in Nevada with those of Newmont Corporation.

Barrick, Gold, Citigroup