In the latest trading session, Barrick Gold (GOLD) closed at $24.25, marking a -0.53% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.36%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.65%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.15%.
GOLD will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect GOLD to post earnings of $0.18 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 100%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.64 billion, up 27.79% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.79 per share and revenue of $11.82 billion. These totals would mark changes of +54.9% and +21.61%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for GOLD. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.71% lower within the past month. GOLD currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that GOLD has a Forward P/E ratio of 30.97 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.37, so we one might conclude that GOLD is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that GOLD has a PEG ratio of 15.49. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. Mining – Gold stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.51 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Mining – Gold industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 21, putting it in the top 9% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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