AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of AU stock opened at $124.67 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.33 and a 200-day moving average of $80.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $62.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 0.59. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $28.44 and a 1-year high of $125.82.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 26.65%.The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,246 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.