14,472 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Bought by Qtron Investments LLC

Key Points

• Qtron Investments LLC has acquired 14,472 shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC, valued at approximately $540,000, signaling growing institutional interest in the mining company.
• AngloGold Ashanti recently reported earnings per share of $1.25, falling short of analysts' estimates, but its revenue exceeded expectations at $2.45 billion.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend increase from $0.69 to $0.80, indicating a positive change with a significant dividend yield of 610.0%.

Qtron Investments LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,472 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $0.2180 on Friday, hitting $54.6120. 3,137,205 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,761,803. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.46. 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 quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.99.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. 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.