AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Given New $41.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the mining company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU opened at $33.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.47. The stock has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $21.65 and a one year high of $38.63.

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 company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,448,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $63,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680,261 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.