AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $87.59, but opened at $96.29. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $96.4010, with a volume of 1,039,924 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AU shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Capital lowered their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 10.8%

The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.76.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 39.54% and a net margin of 32.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 62.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. 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.