Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on B2Gold (NYSE:BTG)

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 43,782 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 129% compared to the typical volume of 19,124 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BTG. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of B2Gold to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Cormark lowered B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on B2Gold from $4.75 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

B2Gold Stock Performance

BTG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.51. The company had a trading volume of 15,084,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,908,824. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. B2Gold has a 1 year low of $2.20 and a 1 year high of $5.94. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.60.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.01. B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 5.65% and a negative net margin of 33.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 74.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that B2Gold will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 57.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BTG. Amundi increased its stake in B2Gold by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,849,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,682,000 after buying an additional 2,710,857 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of B2Gold in the first quarter worth about $238,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of B2Gold by 181.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,158,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,253,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262,266 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in B2Gold by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,707,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,357 shares during the period. Finally, Brave Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in B2Gold in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $108,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

B2Gold Company Profile

B2Gold Corp. is a Canadian-based gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2007, the company focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of gold mining properties in emerging markets. Since its inception, B2Gold has grown into a mid-tier producer with a portfolio of operating mines, advanced-stage development assets and exploration projects.

The company’s principal operations include the Fekola mine in Mali, the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, the Masbate mine in the Philippines and the La Libertad mine in Nicaragua.