AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• AngloGold Ashanti has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts, with five buys, one strong buy, one hold and two sells; the average 12-month price target is $110.50.
• The company’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, reporting $1.98 in EPS versus a $2.03 consensus and revenue of $3.10 billion versus estimates of $3.20 billion.
• AngloGold Ashanti declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annualized yield, while institutional investors own 36.09% of the company.

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.50.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AU. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock opened at $113.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $89.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.19. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $55.08 and a 12-month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 39.54% and a net margin of 32.19%. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 406.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,288,253 shares of the mining company's stock worth $539,119,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047,686 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $426,477,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $226,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,807 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 5,109.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,082,326 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $179,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,186,463 shares of the mining company's stock worth $357,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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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