AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $42.00. The stock had previously closed at $42.57, but opened at $43.83. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $43.44, with a volume of 940,366 shares.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at $4,657,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,529 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth approximately $950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.