Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Buys New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 10,400 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,013,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth approximately $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,200,000 after acquiring an additional 64,066 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $76.30 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.96.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.91 EPS for the current 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 represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.50.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.