We recently compiled a list of the 13 Best Foreign Dividend Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) stands against the other foreign dividend stocks.
Dividends have historically been a key driver of investor returns, contributing 85% of the broader market’s total return since 1960. In Q3 2024, global dividends hit a record $431.1 billion, despite a drop in special one-off dividends. Underlying dividend growth remains strong at 6.4% for 2024.
Some markets saw major milestones. According to a Janus Henderson report, China, India, and Singapore hit record-high dividends, while the US got a boost from Big Tech firms, which started paying dividends for the first time. In fact, 96% of US companies either increased their payouts or kept them steady. Financials and tech were the biggest growth drivers, while mining and transport lagged behind.
India stood out in a big way, and its dividends surged 27.4% to a record $16.2 billion in Q3. Nearly every company posted double-digit increases, and a whopping 97% of Indian companies in the Janus Henderson index have raised or maintained dividends over the last two years, well above the global average. Japan and Canada also continued their upward trend in the third quarter, with a 6.1% and 6.5% increase in dividends, respectively. On the other hand, Europe’s dividend growth slowed a bit to 3.9%, and the UK saw a 7% drop in dividends, mainly because a few commodity giants slashed payouts to manage debt and weak profits.
The Asia-Pacific region was a mixed bag. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia saw dividend declines in Q3, while Singapore and South Korea posted steady gains. Meanwhile, Brazil’s dividends plunged 42% in Q3, but since Brazilian companies have irregular payout patterns, the drop is not as dramatic as it seems. Elsewhere in emerging markets, Saudi Arabia and Thailand were among the strongest performers in the third quarter. Despite some regional setbacks, the overall outlook for dividends remains positive, with financials and tech leading the charge globally.
For years, international stocks have taken a backseat to the dominance of major US tech companies, but that trend could be shifting. A combination of global factors is making foreign equities more attractive to investors, with the main reason being the recent decline of the US dollar against the euro and other major currencies since last October. Given this, we will take at some of the best foreign dividend stocks.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used the Finviz stock screener to filter out foreign dividend stocks. Next, we manually searched for the average upside potential of each stock and selected 13 stocks with the highest values. The list below is ranked in ascending order of the upside potential as of February 12. We have also mentioned the dividend yields and hedge fund sentiment as of Q3 2024.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with 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)
A miner examining yellow gold ore in a mine shaft, symbolizing the company’s exploration process.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)
Dividend Yield as of February 12: 2.29%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Average Upside Potential: 27.77%
Founded in 1983, Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) is a Canadian mining company specializing in exploring, producing, and selling gold and copper. It also deals in silver and energy materials. The company increased its gold reserves by 23% in 2024, reaching 89 million ounces, as a result of converting resources at Reko Diq. Since 2019, the company has replaced 180% of its depleted reserves, adding nearly 46 million ounces. On the copper side, reserves shot up by 224% year-over-year to 18 million tonnes, with feasibility studies at Lumwana and Reko Diq confirming them as top-tier projects. Barrick based its 2024 reserves on a gold price of $1,400 per ounce and a copper price of $3.00 per pound.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) had a solid Q4, boosting gold production by 15% and copper production by 33% from the previous quarter, hitting its annual targets. For 2024, the company reported a 69% jump in net earnings to $2.14 billion, a 51% increase in adjusted net earnings to $2.21 billion, and its highest EBITDA in over a decade at $5.19 billion. Operating cash flow grew 20% to $4.49 billion, while free cash flow more than doubled to $1.32 billion. Barrick kept its quarterly dividend steady at $0.10 per share, bringing total annual payouts to $696 million, and spent $498 million buying back shares. The Q4 dividend will be paid on March 17, 2025, to shareholders on record as of February 28, 2025.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2024, 42 funds were bullish on Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD), compared to 43 funds in the last quarter. Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management was the largest stakeholder in the company, with 54.8 million shares worth $1 billion.
Overall GOLD ranks 5th on our list of the best foreign dividend stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of GOLD as an investment, 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.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.