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

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.16, but opened at $36.29. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $36.11, with a volume of 1,813,160 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AU. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.8 %

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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $33.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.85. The stock has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.81.

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AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at $406,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $45,043,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,627 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $8,808,000 after purchasing an additional 122,507 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.