AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Trading 4.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) traded up 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.17 and last traded at $38.04. 736,767 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,418,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 7.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,448,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764,165 shares during the period. Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,525,000 after purchasing an additional 962,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.