Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,321 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 27,009 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $8,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 42.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 94.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 212,690 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 103,479 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,117.6% in the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 6,088 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Extract Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $1,460,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 118,689 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $11,556,000 after buying an additional 15,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AU. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Roth Capital reduced their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $88.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.69 and a 200-day moving average of $95.84. The firm has a market cap of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.66. 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 twelve month low of $52.05 and a twelve month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 32.19% and a return on equity of 39.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 62.20%.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.