Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 136,856 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 24.4%, acquiring an additional 136,856 shares, totaling approximately 697,273 shares valued at $25.88 million.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on AngloGold Ashanti, with JPMorgan and Roth Capital giving buy ratings, while Wall Street Zen recently downgraded its rating to hold.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $0.80 per share, reflecting a yield of 610.0%, up from the previous $0.69 dividend.

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 24.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 697,273 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 136,856 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.17% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $25,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sprott Inc. grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 232.9% during the 1st quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 303,509 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $11,266,000 after purchasing an additional 212,341 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 14,994 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,036 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 575,728 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $21,371,000 after purchasing an additional 107,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,127.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 561,331 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $20,911,000 after purchasing an additional 543,936 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AU traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.76. 3,967,429 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,715,470. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $22.45 and a 52 week high of $59.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.16.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

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.