AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from seven analysts (five buys, one hold, one sell) with an average 1‑year price target of $112.20 and recent notable targets ranging from $120 to $133.
• Latest quarter: EPS of $1.90 matched estimates and revenue of $3.07B beat consensus, with a strong return on equity (29.11%) and net margin (26.65%); sell‑side expects about 8.78 EPS for the year.
• Dividend cut — the firm paid a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69, yield 0.7%), but a dividend payout ratio of 133.33% raises sustainability concerns.

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $112.20.

A number of research firms have weighed in on AU. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,408,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $18,241,000 after buying an additional 18,457 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,728,000. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,876,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company's stock worth $361,310,000 after buying an additional 284,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE AU opened at $98.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. AngloGold Ashanti has a twelve month low of $38.61 and a twelve month high of $129.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.78.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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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