AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $121.92 and last traded at $120.4240, with a volume of 1388707 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $114.25.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.42. The company has a market capitalization of $62.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. As a group, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,376,000 after buying an additional 207,923 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,270,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $887,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after acquiring an additional 18,457 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.