AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Receives $49.60 Average Price Target from Analysts

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.60.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $55.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. AngloGold Ashanti has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $59.19. The company has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.78.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. This represents a yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.