AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Shareholders Set to Receive $0.12 Quarterly Dividend

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.1250 per share by the mining company on Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This is a 82.6% decrease from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

AngloGold Ashanti has raised its dividend by an average of 1.0% annually over the last three years. AngloGold Ashanti has a dividend payout ratio of 15.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AngloGold Ashanti to earn $8.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.2%.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AU opened at $90.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.59. The stock has a market cap of $45.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.72. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $67.82 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The mining company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 32.19%. Equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. TD Securities initiated coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Freedom Broker raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $107.00 to $111.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $118.35.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of gold mines. Its principal product is refined gold, and the company also produces related byproducts at certain operations. In addition to operating mines, AngloGold Ashanti maintains exploration and development projects intended to expand and sustain its production portfolio.

The company has a geographically diversified portfolio spanning Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Its operations and projects have included assets in Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.