AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $43.25, but opened at $44.92. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $44.64, with a volume of 802,348 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.84.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 179,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 327,108 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $8,711,000 after buying an additional 8,676 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,452 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 11,352 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $248,000. 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.