AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AU. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after acquiring an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $368,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 80.2% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 185,968 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 82,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 209,975 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,592,000 after buying an additional 9,706 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:AU opened at $37.00 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.69 and its 200-day moving average is $28.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $21.65 and a 12 month high of $38.16. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.