AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $37.12, but opened at $38.00. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $37.90, with a volume of 967,399 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $467,795,000 after buying an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in 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. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $63,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. 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.