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

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.20, but opened at $89.66. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $91.2120, with a volume of 1,345,422 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.87.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.11%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.