We recently published a list of 11 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) stands against other best gold mining companies to invest in right now.

According to the World Gold Council’s annual report, robust central bank purchases and rising investor interest drove global gold consumption to a new high in 2024. The Council described central banks’ appetite for gold as “insatiable,” a significant turning point as purchases exceeded 1,000 tons for the third consecutive year. Gold investment grew by 25%, mostly due to gold exchange-traded funds, reaching a four-year high of 1,180 tons. Meanwhile, rising purchasing activity in China and India contributed to the continued strong demand for gold bars and coins.

Physical demand for gold is still low in key consumer markets, despite its impressive performance. China and India have seen a decline in purchasing demand due to record-high prices. Gold sales for January hit a 10-month low, according to the Perth Mint, while silver sales fell 61% from the previous month. This implies that although there is a high demand for investments, the retail and jewelry industries are under pressure from high prices. In light of the aforementioned factors, Citi kept its 6–12 month projection at $3,000, unchanged from the prior forecast, but updated its short-term (0–3 months) price target for gold to $3,000 per ounce from $2,800. Additionally, the bank raised its average price forecast for 2025 from $2,800 to $2,900 per ounce. The bank noted:

“We expect gold to continue to rise as a hedge against growth and other risks, including actual and perceived rising growth risks, including trade wars, still-high interest rates weighing on growth, continued deterioration in the U.S. labor market, ex-U.S. currency devaluation risks, and potential U.S. equity drawdown risks.”

Earlier in the first week of February, US President Donald Trump sparked a trade war by following through on his promise to put tariffs on China. Meanwhile, the President gave Mexico and Canada each a one-month respite. In that regard, the new government seems determined to follow through on its promises of imposing tariffs, casting a pall over global economic growth expectations. According to Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, such an act increases the attraction of safe-haven gold. Speaking on this issue, in combination with January’s job market report, he added:

“I anticipate the data will confirm a slowdown in the U.S. labor market… this scenario would reinforce dovish expectations for the Fed and provide support for gold prices.”

Our Methodology

To come up with our list of the 11 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we scoured the VanEck Gold Miners ETF holdings, a fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in common stocks and depositary receipts of companies in the gold mining industry. From that list, we narrowed down stocks based on the hedge fund sentiments surrounding them. These stocks are ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds that hold their shares.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)    

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) is a global mining company that is involved in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and copper. The company’s operations and initiatives include eighteen nations and four continents.

Citi published an update on Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) back in December, lowering the price target for the stock to $17 from $23. Citi revised its model to reflect the company’s guidance and changed commodity pricing forecasts. Despite an optimistic forecast for gold, with estimates of prices approaching $3,000 per ounce by the end of 2024, Citi has maintained a Neutral rating on Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD).

On February 6, Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) announced a massive increase in its copper and gold reserves. With a 23% increase in gold mineral reserves and a 224% increase in copper reserves, the business emphasized the effective conversion of resources into reserves at its Reko Diq and Lumwana projects.

Sound Shore Management stated the following regarding Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“For example, global gold and copper miner Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) rose after posting earnings that topped forecasts driven by improved cost performance as well as higher metals prices. We initiated our investment earlier this year when the stock was trading at below normal price to earnings and price to book valuations. The depressed valuation was largely due to long-term issues driven by poor acquisitions and shorter-term inflationary pressures that had been a drag on profitability. Following Barrick’s 2019 merger with Randgold, the latter’s senior management team took the reins and have since streamlined and optimized the company’s once sprawling asset base. Today, Barrick is set to improve operations and drive organic growth which, along with a better price environment, we believe should improve returns on capital. Bolstered by a nearly debt-free balance sheet and strong free cash flows, the company is well positioned to increase dividends, share buybacks and improve its valuation.”

Overall, GOLD ranks 3rd on our list of best gold mining companies to invest in right now. While we acknowledge the potential of GOLD, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOLD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.