Wall Street Zen Upgrades AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to Strong-Buy

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.30.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $43.70. 299,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,590,111. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $22.13 and a 1-year high of $46.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.48.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.14%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

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.