Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $36.00 price target on the mining company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.20% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AU traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $32.97. 1,006,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,401,360. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.62. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52 week low of $17.01 and a 52 week high of $33.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after buying an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $118,448,000 after buying an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177,783 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.