AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stake Boosted by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 60.1% in Q3 to 2,782,320 shares—about 0.66% of the company worth roughly $195.7M.
• AngloGold reported quarterly EPS of $1.90 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.07B (above expectations), with a net margin of 26.65% and return on equity of 29.7%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69, yield 0.6%) and has a dividend payout ratio of 70.13%, reflecting a recent payout reduction.

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,782,320 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,044,691 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.66% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $195,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 330.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 964 shares of the mining company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $108.28 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $105.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.78. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $30.94 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The firm has a market cap of $54.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.50.

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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