AngloGold Ashanti PLC (AU) – What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $118.06.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. RBC Dominion Securities set a $110.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 1.8%

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $85.06 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1 year low of $62.55 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.96 and its 200-day moving average is $97.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.73.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 32.19% and a return on equity of 38.77%. On average, equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is a decrease from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd now owns 11,398,551 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,069,147,000 after acquiring an additional 203,418 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,386,503 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $620,874,000 after acquiring an additional 98,250 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,930,737 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $156,214,000 after acquiring an additional 154,726 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter worth about $100,848,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 860,537 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $83,782,000 after acquiring an additional 23,482 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of gold mines. Its principal product is refined gold, and the company also produces related byproducts at certain operations. In addition to operating mines, AngloGold Ashanti maintains exploration and development projects intended to expand and sustain its production portfolio.

The company has a geographically diversified portfolio spanning Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Its operations and projects have included assets in Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.