B2Gold (TSX:BTO) & Barrick (TSX:ABX): Two Gold Stocks On Investors’ Radar 

Summary

• B2Gold’s stock is up 58.22 per cent year-to-date (YTD), while Barrick stock reported a 42.22 per cent growth in the same period.
• Gold’s contribution to the Canadian commodities by value production was almost 20 per cent in 2018.
• Will the precious metal repeat its rally amid the rising trajectory of COVID cases as winter approaches?

Will investors once again lean on gold stocks again as uncertainties loom high amid the rising trajectory of COVID cases as winter approaches? Anticipating another round of lockdowns worldwide, global indices have started contracting since the last two weeks. Will the precious metal repeat its rally?  

Gold prices recorded an all-time-high price of US$ 2000 per ounce in August 2020. Some analysts have predicted, spot bullion prices may hit US$ 3000-mark.

Gold’s contribution to the Canadian commodities by value production was almost 20 per cent in 2018. There are many gold exploration and mining companies listed on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and we are going to explore the following two gold stocks: B2Gold Corp (TSX:BTO) and Barrick Gold Corp (TSX:ABX).

B2Gold Corp (TSX:BTO)

Current Stock Price: C$ 8.18

Vancouver-based B2Gold Corp is a gold exploration and mining company operating across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The gold mining company estimates a total consolidated gold production of between 1,000,000 oz and 1,055,000 oz in FY20.

The precious metal stock paid its shareholders quarterly cash dividend of US$ 0.04 per share on September 30, 2020. The stock holds 2.573 per cent current dividend yield.

B2Gold’s stock has surged over 114 per cent since the pandemic-led crash on March 14. The company’s year-to-date (YTD) stock performance is up by 58.22 per cent. This metal stock is 12.82 per cent up in the last six months.

B2Gold's Year-To-Date Performance Chart. (Source: Refinitiv Thomson Reuters)

B2Gold has been placed among TMX’s Top Volume stocks that have traded with the largest volumes in the last 10 days. The company’s 10-day average volume is 2.55 million.

B2Gold Corp has a current market capitalization of C$ 8.58 billion and earnings-per-share (EPS) of C$ 0.56. As per data on TMX, the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 15.9, and its price-to-book (P/B) ratio is 2.953. The company’s price-to-cashflow (P/CF) ratio is 9.20. The stock offers positive return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) at 23.34 per cent and 14.94 per cent, respectively.

B2Gold Financial Highlights

The company reported consolidated gold production with a 17 per cent year-over-year growth in the third quarter of 2020. B2Gold posted a quarterly consolidated gold revenue of US$ 487 million, an increase of 57 per cent compared to Q3 FY19 (except discounted operations).

Barrick Gold Corp (TSX:ABX)

Current Stock Price: C$ 34.46

Toronto-based Barrick Gold is one of the leading gold producers across the world with mines across North America, South America, Africa, and Australia. Barrick’s stock has soared over 58.87 per cent since the pandemic-led gold crash on March 14. Barrick’s stock grew 42.22 per cent this year.

In the last six months, this gold stock has lost 9 per cent value.

Barrick Gold's Year-To-Date Performance Chart. (Source: Refinitiv Thomson Reuters)

The precious metal stock paid its shareholders a cash dividend of US$ 0.08 per share on September 15, 2020. The company pays a quarterly cash dividend with a 1.243 per cent dividend yield. The stock’s three-year dividend growth is 16.43 per cent, and its five-year dividend growth is 5 per cent.

Barrick Gold has been ranked among TMX’s Top Volume stocks that have traded with the largest volumes in the last 10 days. The stock’s 10-day average volume is 3.79 million.

Barrick Gold Corp has a current market capitalization of C$ 62.48 billion and earnings-per-share (EPS) of C$ 3.3. As per data on TMX, the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 10.8, and its price-to-book (P/B) ratio is 2.157. The company’s price-to-cashflow (P/CF) ratio is 9.20. The stock offers positive return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) at 23.34 per cent and 11.22 per cent, respectively.

Barrick Gold Financial Highlights

In the second quarter of 2o2o ended on June 30, 20202, Barrick Gold posted net earnings of US$ 357 million, substantially up from US$194 million in Q2 FY19. The company registered net cash from operations of US$ 1031 million, more than double compared to US$ 434 million in Q2 FY19.

The net debt decreased by nearly 25 per cent to US$ 1.4 billion in Q2 FY20, with no substantial maturities until 2033. The company posted an operating cash flow of over US$ 1 billion and a free cash flow of US$ 522 million in Q2 FY20.

In the second quarter FY20, Barrick reported total liquidity of US$ 6.7 billion, including a cash balance of US$ 3.7 billion as of Q2 FY20.