AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $124.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $28.44 and a one year high of $125.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.42. The stock has a market cap of $62.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 0.59.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 17,386 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,791,584 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $238,066,000 after acquiring an additional 119,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,070 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by?products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.