AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $38.16 and last traded at $37.34, with a volume of 934728 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.10. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.92.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. 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.