AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Trading Up 5.8% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) rose 5.8% on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $32.42 and last traded at $32.85. Approximately 616,500 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 2,385,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.05.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $126,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $3,010,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 53,477 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,103 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.