Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Price

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $134.00 to $128.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the mining company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 59.79% from the company’s previous close.

AU has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Capital lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Freedom Capital upgraded AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.83.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AU traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,325,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,025,306. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.20. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%. Analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.