Scotiabank Predicts Weaker Earnings for AngloGold Ashanti

Key Points

• Scotiabank lowered its FY2026 EPS forecast for AngloGold Ashanti to $8.43 from $8.78, while keeping a Sector Outperform rating and a $128 target price.
• The company beat Wall Street’s quarterly earnings estimate in its latest report, posting $2.52 EPS versus $2.27 expected, though revenue came in slightly below estimates at $3.24 billion.
• AngloGold Ashanti raised its quarterly dividend sharply to $1.16 per share from $0.17, implying a $4.64 annualized payout and a 6.0% yield.

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for AngloGold Ashanti in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank analyst T. Jakusconek now anticipates that the mining company will post earnings per share of $8.43 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.78. Scotiabank currently has a "Sector Outperform" rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for AngloGold Ashanti's current full-year earnings is $8.79 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for AngloGold Ashanti's FY2027 earnings at $8.66 EPS.

AU has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Capital reduced their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE AU opened at $76.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.90. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%.The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company's stock worth $6,200,000 after buying an additional 64,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,740,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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