AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $108.26, but opened at $104.22. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $105.4820, with a volume of 673,422 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.91 and a 200 day moving average of $85.06. The company has a market cap of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share 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 29.70%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,001,047 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,979,174,000 after acquiring 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 purchasing an additional 1,804,620 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $1,380,472,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 406.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,288,253 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $539,119,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047,686 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 26,421 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.