AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $37.00. The stock had previously closed at $26.76, but opened at $27.35. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $27.39, with a volume of 569,140 shares.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AU. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 36.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 108.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 338.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,215 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $126,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.07.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19.

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.