AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.20, but opened at $89.66. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $91.2120, with a volume of 1,345,422 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $106.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 26.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. 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.