B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.12.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BTG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $3.75 price objective on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Cibc World Mkts cut B2Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

B2Gold Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE BTG opened at $2.49 on Thursday. B2Gold has a 12 month low of $2.34 and a 12 month high of $3.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -4.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.95 and its 200 day moving average is $2.90.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $448.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $449.28 million. B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 7.53% and a negative net margin of 38.42%. B2Gold’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that B2Gold will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in B2Gold by 40.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 166,079,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,312,000 after acquiring an additional 47,967,010 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in B2Gold by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 17,875,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,058,000 after purchasing an additional 7,165,600 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in B2Gold by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,596,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754,500 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in B2Gold by 39.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,284,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,053,000 after purchasing an additional 3,474,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of B2Gold by 80.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,450,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,957,000 after buying an additional 3,311,970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

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.