AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. 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 trading hands.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital set a $76.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,376,000 after buying an additional 207,923 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 102.6% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 6,636 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 46.8% during the second quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,545 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 18,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,538,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.00.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 80.18%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.