AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $76.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.65. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day moving average is $96.96.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted 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 during 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $1,139,000. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $6,523,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 606.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,054 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares during the period. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 122,885 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,556,000 after acquiring an additional 14,673 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.