AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Issues Earnings Results

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The mining company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.22), FiscalAI reports. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 32.19%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock traded up $4.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,510,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,346,659. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.71 and a 200-day moving average of $96.52. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $67.82 and a 52 week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This is a decrease from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

Key Stories Impacting AngloGold Ashanti

Here are the key news stories impacting AngloGold Ashanti this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AngloGold plans to invest about $900 million in mine expansions to increase production by 2030. The spending targets existing operations and offers a potential longer-term production-growth catalyst. Article: AngloGold plans $900 million mine expansion amid stronger profit
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter profit rose 18%, and coverage of the earnings call highlighted strong free cash flow, providing some support despite weaker production. Article: AngloGold Profit Up 18% as Gold Output Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $1.54 versus the $1.76 consensus, while revenue of $2.62 billion was below the $2.89 billion forecast. Gold output also slipped, tempering the profit growth.
• Negative Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, an 82.6% reduction from the prior $0.72 payment. The lower payout may weigh on income-focused investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AU. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.35.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company that explores for, develops and operates gold mines. Gold is its primary product, and the company also produces silver and other by-products at some operations.

The company’s operations and projects span Africa, Australia and the Americas. Its portfolio includes mines and development projects in countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 1998 through the consolidation of gold mining interests held by Anglo American in South Africa.