Scotiabank announced on Monday that it has upgraded its recommendation on Eldorado Gold Corp (NYSE:EGO), moving the stock from Sector Perform to Sector Outperform and increasing its price target to $59.00 from $33.00. At the time of the announcement, Eldorado was trading at $29.83, a price that sits just 0.99% below its 52-week high of $29.94.
The bank's change in stance is driven primarily by the expected entry of the Skouries project into production in the first quarter of 2026. Scotiabank framed the transition of Skouries from a development asset to a producing mine as a pivotal moment for Eldorado, one that should materially alter the company’s cash-flow profile.
Analysts at the bank anticipate that, as Skouries begins contributing to the company’s output, Eldorado will move from negative free cash flow to positive free cash flow. That anticipated shift underlies Scotiabank’s view that the market may re-rate the stock as the mine adds growth to Eldorado’s overall production portfolio.
Data referenced by InvestingPro in the context of the upgrade noted that Eldorado trades at a relatively low price-to-earnings ratio when measured against its near-term earnings growth. The stock has also delivered a 19.24% return over the past year, according to the same dataset.
In a separate corporate move, Eldorado Gold has announced the launch of its first-ever quarterly dividend program. The company declared an initial dividend of $0.075 per common share. That dividend is scheduled to be paid on March 13, 2026 to shareholders of record as of February 27, 2026.
The dividend introduction was communicated through a company press release, which emphasized the firm’s intent to return value to investors through regular cash distributions. The move to pay a quarterly dividend complements Scotiabank’s expectations about the company’s cash flow trajectory once Skouries is operational.
Taken together, the analyst upgrade, the higher price target and the new dividend program provide investors with clearer signals about how Eldorado’s financial strategy may evolve as it shifts from project development into operations.
Market context
- Eldorado Gold: upgraded to Sector Outperform by Scotiabank and price target raised to $59.00.
- Near-term operational catalyst: Skouries expected to enter production in Q1 2026.
- New shareholder return policy: initial quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, payable March 13, 2026 to holders of record on February 27, 2026.