AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $120.14 According to Analysts

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.14.

AU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut AngloGold Ashanti from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $91.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.94 and its 200-day moving average is $94.77. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1 year low of $62.55 and a 1 year high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced 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). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 32.19% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a drop from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.8% in the third quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd now owns 11,398,551 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,069,147,000 after purchasing an additional 203,418 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,386,503 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $620,874,000 after purchasing an additional 98,250 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,930,737 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $156,214,000 after purchasing an additional 154,726 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth about $100,848,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 860,537 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $83,782,000 after purchasing an additional 23,482 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of gold mines. Its principal product is refined gold, and the company also produces related byproducts at certain operations. In addition to operating mines, AngloGold Ashanti maintains exploration and development projects intended to expand and sustain its production portfolio.

The company has a geographically diversified portfolio spanning Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Its operations and projects have included assets in Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.