AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Price Up 3.4% - Should You Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.58 and last traded at $31.24. 572,583 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,293,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AU. TT International Asset Management LTD increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company's stock worth $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $10,419,000 after purchasing an additional 367,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,920,684 shares of the mining company's stock worth $610,378,000 after buying an additional 80,563 shares in the last quarter. 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.