AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Price Down 2.7%

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares were down 2.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $28.27 and last traded at $28.35. Approximately 334,259 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,926,065 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AU. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 3.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.75.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $596,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,424,939 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $26,632,000 after buying an additional 492,358 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $109,803,000 after buying an additional 446,132 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth $2,002,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,396,000 after buying an additional 181,081 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.