Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,375 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 9,103 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti makes up 26.1% of Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $14,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 93.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 800,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $77,981,000 after acquiring an additional 387,196 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 42.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 94.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 212,690 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 103,479 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,117.6% during the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 6,088 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Extract Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $1,460,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $82.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.53 and a 200 day moving average of $96.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $45.36 and a 12 month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%. On average, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AU shares. Freedom Capital raised AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.50.

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.