AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemWall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.
A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AU. Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on AU
AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 1.2%
Shares of AU stock opened at $92.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.87. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1 year low of $38.61 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.60.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.
AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.
Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.
AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.
The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.