AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.70. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.92.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased 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 buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $467,795,000 after buying an additional 3,882,283 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $277,968,000 after buying an additional 2,957,304 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $118,448,000 after buying an additional 3,764,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.