AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 4,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.
AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance
Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $31.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,709,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,493,384. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $17.01 and a 52-week high of $33.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.
AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend
The firm 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 $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.
Read Our Latest Report on AU
Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during 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 in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock worth $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of 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 worth $10,419,000 after purchasing an additional 367,306 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About AngloGold Ashanti
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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