AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.25 EPS

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) released its earnings results on Friday. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $107.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.71 and a 200-day moving average of $93.62. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $38.61 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,848 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.20.

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.