Barrick Gold (GOLD) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Barrick Gold (GOLD) closed the most recent trading day at $28.42, moving +0.82% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.05%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.52%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.72%.

Coming into today, shares of the gold and copper mining company had lost 2.69% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 0.85%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.29%.

GOLD will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect GOLD to post earnings of $0.27 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 80%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.03 billion, up 12.99% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $0.92 per share and revenue of $12.21 billion, which would represent changes of +80.39% and +25.62%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for GOLD. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% higher. GOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, GOLD is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.74. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.66.

We can also see that GOLD currently has a PEG ratio of 15.37. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Mining - Gold was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.07 at yesterday's closing price.

The Mining - Gold industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 112, putting it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow GOLD in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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