Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Price

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from $134.00 to $133.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the mining company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target points to a potential upside of 58.54% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.33.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock traded down $1.80 on Friday, reaching $83.89. 1,457,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,075,158. The company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.55. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.37. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AU. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,001,047 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,979,174,000 after purchasing an additional 252,307 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,847,932 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,395,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,620 shares during the period. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,380,472,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 406.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,288,253 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $539,119,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047,686 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,731,937 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $488,820,000 after buying an additional 26,421 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.