AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) dropped 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $31.12 and last traded at $31.28. Approximately 208,172 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,921,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AU shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.91. The company has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.92.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $16,260,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,443,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,798,967 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $482,183,000 after purchasing an additional 898,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $275,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently 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.