AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Down 4% - Here's What Happened

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.56 and last traded at $23.57. Approximately 385,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,247,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. Investec upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 26.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth about $126,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth $227,000. 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.