Tap into rising gold with Barrick

Article Excerpt

Barrick has moved up recently, along with gold prices—now hitting new all-time highs. The gains likely reflect growing economic uncertainty as well as easing interest rates. The latter limits the returns for interest-bearing investments and also weakens the U.S. dollar. Both compete with gold. Regardless, top-quality gold stocks, like Barrick, remain buys because of their prospects for higher production and cash flow. That should increase their profitability no matter what direction gold prices or inflation take. Barrick is a Power Buy. BARRICK GOLD, $27.81 is a buy. The miner (Toronto symbol ABX; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.barrick.com; Shares o/s: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $47.9 billion; Yield: 2.1%) is the second-largest gold producer in the world after Newmont Corp. (symbol NEM on New York). Barrick produced 1.08 million ounces of gold in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. That was up 14.5% from 943,000 ounces a year earlier. The rise, plus higher realized gold prices, helped push revenue up 8.2%, to $3.65 billion from $3.37 billion. Earnings, excluding one-time items,…