AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AU opened at $26.23 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.01. AngloGold Ashanti has a fifty-two week low of $15.24 and a fifty-two week high of $32.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $615,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,322 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,154,000 after acquiring an additional 65,025 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $109,803,000 after acquiring an additional 446,132 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,396,000 after acquiring an additional 181,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,201,551 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $48,874,000 after purchasing an additional 431,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.