AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 36.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 108.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 338.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,215 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $27.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.80. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $14.91 and a 52 week high of $32.57.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th.

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.