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

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $110.50.

A number of research firms have commented on AU. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Freedom Capital raised AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 3.6%

AU stock opened at $76.30 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $45.36 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The company has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.96. 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 (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 68.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.