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

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $88.91, but opened at $84.30. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $84.4260, with a volume of 2,088,997 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AU. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Roth Capital set a $76.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 5.4%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.56. The company has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.48. 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 (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 11th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%.The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.18%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased 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 buying an additional 147 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 27.3% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 229 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 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.