AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $38.16 and last traded at $37.34, with a volume of 934728 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.16.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after buying an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after buying an additional 193,992 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,419,000 after buying an additional 367,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.