JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Price Target to $37.00

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $32.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the mining company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 38.19% from the company's current price.

AU has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector underperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,056,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,939. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $15.60 and a 12 month high of $32.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.07.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.1% during the second quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 14,100 shares of the mining company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the mining company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,843 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,279 shares of the mining company's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.