AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Downgraded by HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Free Report) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $23.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $24.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AU traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,024,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,582. The company's 50-day moving average price is $20.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.93. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.26.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $16,260,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,900,771 shares of the mining company's stock worth $393,432,000 after acquiring an additional 383,360 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $17,101,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 11.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,500 shares of the mining company's stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 306.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,272,803 shares of the mining company's stock worth $20,110,000 after acquiring an additional 959,346 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, the Americas, and Australia. 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 project located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.