AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stock Position Trimmed by Oaktree Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Oaktree Capital Management LP reduced its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 15.4%, selling 762,476 shares and ending the quarter with 4,185,261 shares worth about $294.3M, making AU its fifth-largest holding.
• Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" on AU with a consensus price target of $100.50; five analysts rate Buy, two Hold and one Sell, while firms like Citigroup and Roth MKM have recently raised targets into the $120s.
• AngloGold reported quarterly EPS of $1.90 (in line) and revenue of $3.07B (beat), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69, ~0.7% yield) with a dividend payout ratio around 70%.

Oaktree Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,185,261 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 762,476 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti makes up 2.3% of Oaktree Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Oaktree Capital Management LP owned 1.00% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $294,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $35,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AU stock traded down $6.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.62. 865,666 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,905,726. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The stock has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $105.91 and its 200 day moving average is $85.06.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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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