AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AU shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,001,047 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,979,174,000 after purchasing an additional 252,307 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,847,932 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,395,905,000 after buying an additional 1,804,620 shares during the period. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,380,472,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 406.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,288,253 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $539,119,000 after buying an additional 5,047,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,731,937 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $488,820,000 after buying an additional 26,421 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $94.73 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.77. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.55.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.