AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,651,135 shares, a drop of 53.1% from the November 30th total of 9,927,463 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,965,358 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,965,358 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE AU traded up $1.34 on Friday, hitting $91.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 938,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,541. The firm has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.58. AngloGold Ashanti has a 52-week low of $22.45 and a 52-week high of $91.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 80.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AU. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $226,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,807 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,767.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,788,123 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,027,000 after buying an additional 2,638,823 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,137,721 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $142,986,000 after buying an additional 2,300,204 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,847,932 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,395,905,000 after buying an additional 1,804,620 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter worth about $74,039,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.