AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $107.02, but opened at $95.93. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $96.2980, with a volume of 903,892 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.99.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.