Brokerages Set AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) PT at $33.67

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.67.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AU. Scotiabank restated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Investec upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $596,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,002,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,396,000 after purchasing an additional 181,081 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 748.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 45,142 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 39,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC now owns 683,604 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $17,179,000 after purchasing an additional 64,993 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $29.50 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $15.60 and a 12 month high of $32.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.98.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

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.