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

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.0 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.98.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth $1,268,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $109,803,000 after purchasing an additional 446,132 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC now owns 603,911 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $11,287,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 57,452 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,032,491 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $37,987,000 after buying an additional 379,701 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.