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

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.45, but opened at $30.33. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $30.61, with a volume of 226,649 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.67.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 53,477 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth $3,010,000. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 53.8% during the third quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 100,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $629,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.