HSBC Lowers AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to Reduce

HSBC cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AU. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $23.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $24.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $23.84 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.99. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.26.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $16,260,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,900,771 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $393,432,000 after purchasing an additional 383,360 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $17,101,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 11.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 306.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,272,803 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $20,110,000 after acquiring an additional 959,346 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, the Americas, and Australia. 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 project located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.