AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Roth Capital increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $89.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $37.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.95. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $22.45 and a 12-month high of $91.00.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%. Research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 80.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,127.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 561,331 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $20,911,000 after acquiring an additional 543,936 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 14,994 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,036 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 697,273 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $25,883,000 after purchasing an additional 136,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.1% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 91,508 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.