Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Purchases New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC has acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC, purchasing 6,830 shares valued at approximately $254,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for AngloGold Ashanti, with JPMorgan Chase raising the target price to $63.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to a "hold" rating.
• The company has declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.80 to be paid on September 5th, up from the previous $0.69, reflecting a strong dividend yield.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,830 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AU. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE AU opened at $53.69 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $22.45 and a 1 year high of $59.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.82.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 23.60%. Analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 13.30%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.

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