AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up to $26.63

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.63, but opened at $27.40. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $27.47, with a volume of 181,759 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AU. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank restated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.91 and a 200 day moving average of $25.86.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 18.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,961 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,768 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $520,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter worth $2,002,000. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% in the second quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC now owns 683,604 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $17,179,000 after buying an additional 64,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,843 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.