AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AU shares gapped down pre-market, opening at $104.22 after a $108.26 close and last trading around $105.48 on volume of ~673,422 shares.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but positive overall: five Buys, two Holds and one Sell yields an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $100.50, though some firms set higher targets (Roth MKM $122, Citi $120).
• Latest quarterly results showed EPS $1.90 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.07B (above $2.99B expected), and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.173/share (annualized $0.69, yield ~0.7%, ex-dividend March 13).

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $108.26, but opened at $104.22. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $105.4820, with a volume of 673,422 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.78.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) 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. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. On average, analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.173 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $321,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 93.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,305,611 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $59,497,000 after acquiring an additional 632,003 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 32.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 4,664 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 47.9% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 537,845 shares of the mining company's stock worth $24,311,000 after acquiring an additional 174,169 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth about $911,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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