Scotiabank Reiterates “Sector Underperform” Rating for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)

Scotiabank reaffirmed their sector underperform rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price target on the mining company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $27.00.

AU has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $28.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU opened at $30.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.96. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $32.57.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a 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 is Friday, August 30th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $615,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,154,000 after buying an additional 65,025 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 312.3% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,003,149 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $112,199,000 after buying an additional 4,547,011 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $109,803,000 after buying an additional 446,132 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,396,000 after acquiring an additional 181,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.