AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $37.00. The stock had previously closed at $26.76, but opened at $27.35. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $27.39, with a volume of 569,140 shares changing hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AU. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 108.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 338.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,215 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $28.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19.

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.