AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.09, but opened at $31.22. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $31.10, with a volume of 357,511 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on 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, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.73. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after buying an additional 962,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,992 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $10,419,000 after purchasing an additional 367,306 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.