Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC Sells 46,000 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC lowered its position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 344,774 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 46,000 shares during the period. AngloGold Ashanti comprises approximately 13.4% of Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $7,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AU. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $37.00 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $21.65 and a 52 week high of $38.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.16. The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.