AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Receives $100.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.50.

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 1.8%

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $106.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48 and a beta of 0.55. AngloGold Ashanti has a twelve month low of $30.94 and a twelve month high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.53 and a 200-day moving average of $84.93.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.173 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.