Andra AP fonden Buys Shares of 85,720 AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 85,720 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,912,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AU. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.3 %

AU stock opened at $31.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.93 and a 200 day moving average of $27.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88 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 plc has a 52 week low of $20.05 and a 52 week high of $33.77.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.