Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its target price upped by Scotiabank from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the mining company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $30.81 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1 year low of $17.94 and a 1 year high of $33.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.83 and its 200-day moving average is $27.71. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 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 valued at $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 worth $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares during the period. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.