AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Trading 6.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) shares shot up 6.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.77 and last traded at $113.1820. 675,958 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,436,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AU. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.58. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84 and a beta of 0.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 80.18%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.