AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $32.19, but opened at $29.31. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $29.80, with a volume of 1,018,477 shares traded.

The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $467,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after buying an additional 2,957,304 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $118,448,000 after buying an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after buying an additional 2,177,783 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 7.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.09 and a 200-day moving average of $27.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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.