AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $83.42 and last traded at $83.2280, with a volume of 1144920 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.35.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 70.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $76.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 7.2%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market cap of $35.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63 and a beta of 0.48.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 11th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,270,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 46.8% during the second quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,545 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after buying an additional 18,016 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter worth about $5,538,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 102.6% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 6,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 65,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 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.