AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stock: U S Global Investors Inc. Grows Stake

U S Global Investors Inc. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 603.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,364 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 60,364 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $6,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AU. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 93.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 800,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $77,981,000 after acquiring an additional 387,196 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 26.7% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,909 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $16,413,000 after purchasing an additional 42,714 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,930,737 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $156,214,000 after acquiring an additional 154,726 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 122,179 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,479,000 after purchasing an additional 50,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 121.9% in the first quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 272,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $26,889,000 after acquiring an additional 149,855 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $85.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.49. The company has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.73. 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 PLC has a 1 year low of $62.55 and a 1 year high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by ($0.05). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 32.19% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a negative change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Broker lifted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $107.00 to $111.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. RBC Dominion Securities set a $110.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.06.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.