AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives $34.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $277,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,304 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $29.45 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.72. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $18.37 and a 1-year high of $33.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22.

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.