AngloGold Ashanti Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AU)

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 45,029 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof1,233% compared to the typical volume of 3,377 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AU. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $54.6120 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.06 and its 200 day moving average is $42.30. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $22.45 and a 52 week high of $59.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%. Research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at $501,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at $344,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,581,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,111 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.