Barrick Gold Corp (ABX)

[LCrigger]

ABX Looks Good This Earnings Season

Yin and Yang Gold Stocks
Written by Brad Zigler

From Hard Assets Investor (excerpt):

"Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) and Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) both release earnings Wednesday. Besides cranking out gold, that's about all these two companies have in common. Taken together, they're a study in contrasts; the yin and yang of gold miners.

That's made manifest in the companies' ability to surprise analysts. We postulated the surprise potential for these two companies in our recent earnings preview ("Will Gold Stock Earnings Surprise Anyone?"). Based upon Barrick's recent tendency to outperform expectations and Agnico-Eagle's propensity to lag analysts' estimates, we adjusted the then-current consensus earnings figures upward for Barrick and downward for Agnico-Eagle.

Last week, the Street thought Barrick would deliver 36 cents a share in first-quarter earnings. Our model says 37 cents is more likely. Analysts pegged Agnico-Eagle's EPS at 10 cents; we're looking for 9 cents.

So, why does one company gladden our hearts and the other disappoint? It's all in the numbers, really."

The full article is at http://www.hardassetsinvestor.com/features-and-interviews/1/1541-yin-and-yang-gold-stocks.html