AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $42.79, but opened at $41.65. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $42.37, with a volume of 1,379,271 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AU. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day moving average of $29.06.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,448,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764,165 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $63,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.