AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $40.18, but opened at $42.64. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $41.99, with a volume of 560,037 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.78. The company has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $118,448,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company's stock worth $63,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680,261 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock worth $586,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares in 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.