AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $49.15 and last traded at $48.65, with a volume of 823307 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Roth Capital began coverage on AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.92.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 194.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,619 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at $5,538,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,963,318 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,878,000 after acquiring an additional 398,684 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth about $321,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.