Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Stock Price

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the mining company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.69% from the company’s current price.

AU has been the subject of several other research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AU traded down $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.69. 929,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,395,647. AngloGold Ashanti has a 1-year low of $21.65 and a 1-year high of $38.63. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.42.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,992 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $630,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $2,446,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 179,045 shares during the last quarter. 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.