Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD has divested 79,268,800 shares of Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd. for gross proceeds of around $210 million (at HK$20.50 per share). In fourth-quarter 2018, the company purchased the shares at HK$10.50 per share.
Barrick currently owns 10,250,000 shares of Shandong Gold, which represents 2.05% interest in Shandong Gold’s Hong-Kong listed (H-class) shares. Barrick has reaffirmed its commitment to the strong long-term strategic partnership with Shandong Gold.
Barrick’s shares have surged 69.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s 50.9% rally.
For 2020, Barrick anticipates attributable gold production in the range of 4.6-5 million ounces compared with the previous expectation of 4.8-5.2 million ounces. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) are expected in the range of $920-$970 per ounce, unchanged from the prior view. Cost of sales is expected in the range of $980-$1,030 per ounce, unchanged from previous guidance.
The company continues to expect copper production in the range of 440-500 million pounds at AISC of $2.20-$2.50 per pound and at cost of sales of $2.10-$2.40 per pound.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Barrick currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Alamos Gold Inc. AGI, B2Gold Corp BTG and Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV, all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Alamos Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 65% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 40.1% in the past year.
B2Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 214.3% for 2020. Its shares have returned 76.7% in the past year.
Franco-Nevada has an expected earnings growth rate of 60.2% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 68.3% in the past year.
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