Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd Raises Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 13.4% in Q4, buying 29,316 shares to hold 247,914 shares valued at about $21.48 million.
• AngloGold reported Q results of $1.90 EPS (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.07 billion (above the $2.99B estimate), with strong profitability metrics including a 29.11% ROE and a 26.65% net margin.
• AngloGold cut its dividend, paying a quarterly $0.173 ($0.69 annualized) for a 0.7% yield and a 133.33% payout ratio, raising questions about dividend sustainability.

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 247,914 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,316 shares during the quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $21,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $887,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,408,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $18,241,000 after buying an additional 18,457 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,728,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,876,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $104.54 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $104.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.03. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $38.61 and a 12-month high of $129.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $52.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.66.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AU shares. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.20.

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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