Analysts Set AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Target Price at $112.20

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.20.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $90.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $38.61 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $103.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.60.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $1,408,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after acquiring an additional 18,457 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $3,728,000. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,876,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $361,310,000 after buying an additional 284,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.