State of Wyoming Raises Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 152.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,990 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 5,428 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,200,000 after buying an additional 64,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter worth about $1,740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $92.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.60. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $43.44 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.16.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 37.17%. Research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 68.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.