Scotiabank Raises AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Price Target to $134.00

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $131.00 to $134.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the mining company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AU. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $126.10 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $28.44 and a 12-month high of $128.54. The firm has a market cap of $63.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30 and a beta of 0.59.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,246 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.