Bellwether Advisors LLC Buys New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 31,683 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,085,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AU. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Roth Capital dropped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $78.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.65. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $45.36 and a one year high of $129.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.77.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.