AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 867,897 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the previous session’s volume of 2,129,045 shares.The stock last traded at $25.88 and had previously closed at $25.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Investec raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,103 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,843 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 18.9% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 16,770 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.