L2 Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

L2 Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 37.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,344 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,126 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,310,000 after buying an additional 284,017 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth $1,139,000. Sprott Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 770,670 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $54,201,000 after buying an additional 16,828 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth $6,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.84 and a 200-day moving average of $97.34. The company has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.60. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1-year low of $43.44 and a 1-year high of $129.14. 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 (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company 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 36.41%. Equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 68.04%.

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.