AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.69 Per Share

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) announced a semi-annual dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.69 per share by the mining company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22.

AngloGold Ashanti has a dividend payout ratio of 13.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect AngloGold Ashanti to earn $3.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.5%.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,739,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,486,770. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.29 and its 200 day moving average is $27.62. 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 has a 1 year low of $17.01 and a 1 year high of $33.77.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

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.