AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

AU has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.14.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.9%

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $91.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.80. The company has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.73. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $62.55 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 32.19%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a drop from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 93.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 800,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $77,981,000 after acquiring an additional 387,196 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 26.7% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,909 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $16,413,000 after acquiring an additional 42,714 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,930,737 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $156,214,000 after acquiring an additional 154,726 shares in the last quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 121.9% in the first quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 272,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $26,889,000 after acquiring an additional 149,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 71.1% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 122,179 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $11,479,000 after acquiring an additional 50,752 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE: AU) is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of gold. Its activities include operating mines, processing ore into doré and bullion, and developing mineral resources and reserves. The company also conducts exploration and evaluation activities in areas with potential for additional gold discoveries.

The company has mining operations and projects across several regions, including Africa, Australia, the Americas, and other international markets.