AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.67.

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AU. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 53,477 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,010,000. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 100,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter valued at about $629,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $29.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,564,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,988,755. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $15.60 and a 52-week high of $32.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.83.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th.

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.