AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $79.34, but opened at $81.64. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $81.8120, with a volume of 770,037 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 3.2%

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 company has a market capitalization of $41.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.78 and a 200 day moving average of $97.42.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%.The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 68.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.