AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Given New $134.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $134.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the mining company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Capital cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 3.6%

AU opened at $76.30 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.96. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $45.36 and a 1-year high of $129.14. The stock has a market cap of $38.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%. As a group, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.