AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Trading Down 9.7% – Should You Sell?

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)’s share price fell 9.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $104.58 and last traded at $104.4390. 3,147,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 2,786,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 8.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $45.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.75.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 24.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.1% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,380,472,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,705,516 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $401,269,000 after buying an additional 738,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,310,000 after buying an additional 284,017 shares during 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.