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

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $37.12, but opened at $38.00. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $37.90, with a volume of 967,399 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.28 and its 200 day moving average is $28.36.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after acquiring an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $45,043,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.