HSBC Lowers AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to Reduce

HSBC downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $23.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $24.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU opened at $23.84 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.92.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 1.1%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $245,342,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $180,693,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 312.3% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,003,149 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $112,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,547,011 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,948,606 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $240,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 711.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,830,538 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $44,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,046 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.