Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd Invests $2.02 Million in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 20,700 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,015,000. AngloGold Ashanti accounts for about 1.1% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU opened at $78.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.63 and a 200-day moving average of $96.77. The company has a market cap of $39.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $45.36 and a 1 year high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AU. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

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.