Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 109,950 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,733,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 27.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 91,793 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,399 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $92.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $39.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.96. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $24.61 and a twelve month high of $93.85.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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 given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.