Cetera Investment Advisers Invests $1.16 Million in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has invested approximately $1.16 million in AngloGold Ashanti PLC, acquiring 31,314 shares during the first quarter.
• AngloGold Ashanti reported $1.25 earnings per share for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while its quarterly revenue was $2.45 billion, exceeding predictions.
• The company announced an increase in its semi-annual dividend from $0.69 to $0.80, representing a significant dividend yield of 610.0%.

Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,314 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $1,162,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 769.5% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,939 shares of the mining company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $115,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $120,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,522,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,782,192. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $59.19. The stock has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.34.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 24.25%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a yield of 610.0%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.