Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 53,827 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,426,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,376,000 after buying an additional 207,923 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 65,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $5,538,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 102.6% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 6,636 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $89.53 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $37.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.58. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $22.45 and a one year high of $91.00.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AU. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.