AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP increased its AngloGold Ashanti stake by 506.7% in the second quarter, ending with 27,803 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 36.09% of the company.
• AngloGold Ashanti reported quarterly earnings of $1.98 per share, slightly below the $2.03 analyst consensus, while revenue of $3.10 billion also missed estimates of $3.20 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $110.50, while the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

AXQ Capital LP increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 506.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,803 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,220 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AU. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,134,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 10,766 shares of the mining company's stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 5,920 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,930,737 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $156,214,000 after purchasing an additional 154,726 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,078,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of AU stock opened at $108.95 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 32.19%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. As a group, research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.50.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.