AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.50.

A number of research firms have commented on AU. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Roth Capital decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock opened at $88.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $52.05 and a 12-month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 39.54% and a net margin of 32.19%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.