Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 235,644 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,573,000. AngloGold Ashanti comprises 0.4% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth approximately $321,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 579.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 266.9% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 379,450 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $17,278,000 after buying an additional 276,037 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 162.5% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Forefront Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 46.8% during the second quarter. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,545 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after buying an additional 18,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock opened at $106.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.55 and its 200 day moving average is $71.22. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $27.48 and a 52 week high of $107.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.18%.

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.