AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $90.87, but opened at $85.98. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $85.7080, with a volume of 854,127 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.48.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%.The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.