B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.66, but opened at $2.79. B2Gold shares last traded at $2.78, with a volume of 6,596,182 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BTG shares. Bank of America downgraded B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Securities downgraded B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $4.50 target price on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.21.

B2Gold Stock Up 5.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -6.75, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.82.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s payout ratio is -16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in B2Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of B2Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in B2Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 8,250 shares during the period. 61.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B2Gold Company Profile

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.