Barrick Mining's Cash-Fueled Capital Return Strategy Signals Upside

Barrick Mining Corporation B is harnessing its robust cash flow and healthy balance sheet to reward its shareholders, reinforcing its position as a capital return-focused gold producer. It generated strong operating cash flows of roughly $4.5 billion in 2024, with a significant portion funneled back to investors. Barrick returned about $1.2 billion to its shareholders in 2024 through dividends and repurchases. Barrick’s board, in February 2025, authorized a new program for the repurchase of up to $1 billion of its outstanding common shares. It repurchased shares worth $143 million under this program and paid dividends worth $172 million during the first quarter. The company’s commitment to a sustainable base dividend, bolstered by performance-linked distributions, also reflects a disciplined approach to capital allocation. The performance-linked dividend policy enhances shareholder returns when its liquidity is strong. Barrick offers a dividend yield of 1.8% at the current stock price with a payout ratio of 28% (a ratio below 60% is a good indicator that the dividend will be sustainable). B ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of around $4.1 billion. Barrick’s solid liquidity position and healthy cash flow position it well to take advantage of attractive development and exploration opportunities while driving shareholder value. It has ample financial flexibility to continue returning capital while investing in organic growth.Among its major peers, Newmont Corporation NEM has already delivered $1 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases since the beginning of 2025. Newmont generated a record free cash flow of $1.2 billion in the first quarter, reflecting strong financial health supporting growth initiatives and shareholder returns. Newmont is well-placed to strengthen its balance sheet and continue returning capital to its shareholders following the completion of its divestment program.Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM is capitalizing on robust free cash flow to aggressively enhance shareholder value through dividends and share repurchases. Last year, Agnico Eagle returned nearly $1 billion to its shareholders. In the first quarter, Agnico Eagle delivered a robust free cash flow of $594 million and returned around 42% of that through dividends and buybacks.B’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesBarrick’s shares have surged 39.4% year to date compared with the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s rise of 58.7%, courtesy of the gold price rally. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, B is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 9.81, a roughly 23.4% discount when stacked up with the industry average of 12.8X. It carries a Value Score of A. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for B’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 55.6% and 23.1%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending higher over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Newmont Corporation (NEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Barrick Mining Corporation (B): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks