AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Short Interest Up 19.2% in March

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,270,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 4,420,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 2.3 %

AU stock opened at $43.15 on Wednesday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $21.66 and a 12-month high of $46.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.07 and its 200 day moving average is $29.66. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares during the period. Carrhae Capital LLP increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $63,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.