AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Bought by Carrhae Capital LLP

Key Points

• Carrhae Capital LLP nearly tripled its AngloGold Ashanti stake in the second quarter, adding 503,644 shares to hold 756,610 shares valued at approximately $61.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $110.50, despite several recent target-price cuts and one “Strong Sell” downgrade.
• AngloGold Ashanti’s shares traded at $107.85, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.98—slightly below expectations—and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, yielding about 2.7%.

Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 199.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,610 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 503,644 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti comprises about 1.6% of Carrhae Capital LLP's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Carrhae Capital LLP owned 0.15% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $61,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Roth Capital cut their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,819,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,971,037. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.24. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $61.31 and a 12-month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 32.19%. On average, equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

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.

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