AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $2,115,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 121,389 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 564,903 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $12,584,000 after acquiring an additional 173,188 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $35.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.90. AngloGold Ashanti has a fifty-two week low of $21.23 and a fifty-two week high of $36.69. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

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.