AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Up 4.4% – What’s Next?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)’s stock price rose 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.17 and last traded at $38.04. Approximately 736,767 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,418,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.85.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 179,045 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,606,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 327,108 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $8,711,000 after buying an additional 8,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 80.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,452 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 11,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.