AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives $41.30 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.30.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $406,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th 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. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $45,043,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,627 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $8,808,000 after buying an additional 122,507 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $40.46 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.17. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $22.13 and a one year high of $46.90. 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 market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.48.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. On average, analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.