AngloGold Ashanti PLC (AU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.72 on September 4th

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.72 per share by the mining company on Friday, September 4th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st.

AngloGold Ashanti has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.0%per year over the last three years. AngloGold Ashanti has a dividend payout ratio of 145.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect AngloGold Ashanti to earn $7.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.9%.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU opened at $79.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.30 and a 200 day moving average of $96.15. AngloGold Ashanti has a twelve month low of $45.36 and a twelve month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AU. Freedom Capital raised AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Roth Capital reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

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.