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

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.45, but opened at $30.33. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $30.61, with a volume of 226,649 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Investec raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.50.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $615,990,000 after buying an additional 1,948,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,154,000 after acquiring an additional 65,025 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,396,000 after acquiring an additional 181,081 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,201,551 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $48,874,000 after purchasing an additional 431,025 shares during the period. Finally, Barings LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 395.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barings LLC now owns 1,101,183 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,818,000 after purchasing an additional 878,717 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.