Carrhae Capital LLP Boosts Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 170.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti makes up 6.7% of Carrhae Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Carrhae Capital LLP’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $79,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,992 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,419,000 after purchasing an additional 367,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $34.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.94. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a fifty-two week low of $21.23 and a fifty-two week high of $36.69.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AU. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.