In the latest market close, Barrick Gold (GOLD) reached $15.96, with a -0.62% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.92%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.31%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 2.03%.

The gold and copper mining company's stock has climbed by 3.88% in the past month, exceeding the Basic Materials sector's gain of 1.86% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.81%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Barrick Gold in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on February 12, 2025. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.45, indicating a 66.67% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Barrick Gold. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 7.38% lower. As of now, Barrick Gold holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Barrick Gold currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.84. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 9.95 of its industry.

It's also important to note that GOLD currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.31. 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 industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.59 as of yesterday's close.

The Mining - Gold industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, which puts it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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