B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.68, but opened at $2.74. B2Gold shares last traded at $2.66, with a volume of 7,121,365 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities lowered B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lowered B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.02.

B2Gold Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.53 and a 200 day moving average of $2.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.10.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 0.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 59,489,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,862,000 after buying an additional 438,399 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,010,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in B2Gold by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,186,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,335,000 after acquiring an additional 272,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in B2Gold by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,389,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,510,000 after purchasing an additional 130,638 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of B2Gold by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,658,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,436,000 after acquiring an additional 5,401,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

About B2Gold

B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer company. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 100% interest in the Gramalote gold project in Colombia; 24% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp.