AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Down 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)’s stock price was down 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $98.19 and last traded at $98.5190. Approximately 1,057,714 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 2,905,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 9.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.09 and a 200-day moving average of $85.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,246 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.