AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• AngloGold Ashanti's shares reached a new 52-week high of $52.28 following the announcement of a $0.80 dividend per share, reflecting a yield of 610.0% on the stock.
• Wall Street analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.08, while multiple hedge funds have recently increased their positions in the company.
• Despite reporting a net margin of 23.60% and revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, the company missed analysts' EPS estimates by $0.06.

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $52.28 and last traded at $52.06, with a volume of 1627220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.76.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.9%

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share 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 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,002,449 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $787,791,000 after purchasing an additional 145,125 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company's stock worth $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,041,932 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $150,054,000 after buying an additional 95,668 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $63,503,000 after buying an additional 2,680,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,569,868 shares of the mining company's stock worth $59,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,335 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.