Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 37,891 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,525,000 after buying an additional 962,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after buying an additional 193,992 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,419,000 after buying an additional 367,306 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of AU opened at $35.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $20.46 and a 12-month high of $36.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.91.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Equities research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.