AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.80.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE AU opened at $40.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $21.90 and a 1-year high of $46.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.84. The company has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 11,353 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.7% during the first quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,529 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.