Brokerages Set AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Target Price at $86.00

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.50.

Several research firms have commented on AU. Scotiabank lifted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU opened at $106.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $27.44 and a 1-year high of $106.87. The stock has a market cap of $41.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.37.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,376,000 after acquiring an additional 207,923 shares during the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $887,000. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.3% during the second quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 65,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.