Goldcorp could rise more than 40% without gold gains: Barron's

[NEW YORK] Goldcorp Inc's stock could rise 40 per cent, even without support from rising precious-metals prices, as the miner's cost-cutting efforts begin to show, according to a Barron's report on Sunday.

Markets have punished the company for having "overpromised and underdelivered," Barron's said, adding the company's stock has seen gains far below that of peers Newmont Mining Corp and Barrick Gold Corp despite gold's strong returns.

Gold prices are up some 25 per cent this year, more than doubling Newmont's and Barrick's shares. But Goldcorp has seen its US-listed shares rise just 38 per cent this year.

Low interest rates have decreased the opportunity cost of holding assets that do not throw off yields, while global growth fears have sent investors looking for safe haven assets.

Yet some of Goldcorp's recent earnings reports missed expectations, and the company cut its dividend by two-thirds in its fourth quarter, Barron's said.

Meanwhile, Mexican regulators are examining whether the mining company broke any regulations in its handling of a long-running leak of contaminated water at the country's biggest gold mine, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Still, the company's efforts to cut corporate headcount and mining staff in Argentina may show signs of improvement. Chief Executive David Garofalo has promised savings that could add 20 cents per share to earnings on a one-year basis, Barron's said, citing analyst John Bridges of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The stock could rise more than 40 per cent, to US$23, even "without needing the gold price to take it there," Barron's quoted Tocqueville Asset Management LP analyst Ryan McIntyre as saying.

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