Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Shares in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies acquired 556,200 AngloGold Ashanti shares worth approximately $54.2 million, representing a 0.11% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 36.09% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, though MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $110.50. Recent targets were lowered by Citigroup and RBC, while Zacks downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• AngloGold Ashanti beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.52 versus $2.27 estimated and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, implying a 5.8% annualized yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 556,200 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $54,152,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.11% of AngloGold Ashanti as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $6,200,000 after purchasing an additional 64,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter valued at $1,740,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $79.70 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.50 and a 200-day moving average of $96.63. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $45.36 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The company has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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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