AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $114.00.

AU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:AU opened at $93.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. AngloGold Ashanti has a fifty-two week low of $43.44 and a fifty-two week high of $129.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.37.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. Analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 68.04%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.