AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.75.

AU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. Scotiabank raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,920,684 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $610,378,000 after acquiring an additional 80,563 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $277,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company's stock worth $75,525,000 after buying an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 159.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,251,492 shares of the mining company's stock worth $33,327,000 after buying an additional 768,363 shares during the period. Finally, Barings LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 395.0% during the second quarter. Barings LLC now owns 1,101,183 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,818,000 after buying an additional 878,717 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 3.1 %

AU stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.21. 2,459,381 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,776. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.94. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $15.80 and a 52-week high of $32.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.00 and a 200-day moving average of $27.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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.