AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU – Get Free Report)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $43.25, but opened at $44.92. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $44.64, with a volume of 802,348 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AU. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.80.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AU

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.65 and its 200 day moving average is $29.44.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after buying an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $63,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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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