AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 86.4% during the first quarter, now owning 9,355 shares valued at approximately $347,000.
• AngloGold Ashanti has announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.80, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.69, reflecting a dividend yield of 610.0%.
• Despite a strong revenue of $2.45 billion, the company reported earnings per share of $1.25, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $1.31.

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 86.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,355 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 59,626 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 16.0% in the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 109,922 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $4,101,000 after buying an additional 15,137 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.1% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 91,508 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,868 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.4% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 697,273 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $25,883,000 after purchasing an additional 136,856 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sprott Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 232.9% in the first 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock traded up $0.85 on Monday, reaching $67.16. 2,620,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,012,962. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.15 and a 200-day moving average of $45.58. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $67.33. The firm has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 11th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.60.

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.