AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.53, but opened at $30.45. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $29.77, with a volume of 590,501 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AU. StockNews.com cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 3.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.69.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors 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.