AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AngloGold Ashanti's share price reached a new 52-week high of $61.42, closing slightly lower at $60.92, indicating strong investor interest.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on AngloGold Ashanti, with four analysts recommending a buy, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock to a "strong sell."
• The company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.80, reflecting a significant increase from the previous dividend, resulting in a yield of 610.0%.

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $61.42 and last traded at $60.92, with a volume of 189957 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AU. Zacks Research cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $53.77 and its 200 day moving average is $45.11. The stock has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.99.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a yield of 610.0%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,284,407 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,017,746,000 after buying an additional 1,281,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company's stock worth $226,354,000 after buying an additional 4,577,807 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,852,722 shares of the mining company's stock worth $219,100,000 after buying an additional 87,679 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,041,932 shares of the mining company's stock worth $150,054,000 after buying an additional 95,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,197,861 shares of the mining company's stock worth $149,212,000 after buying an additional 140,410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.