16,434,376 Shares in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,434,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,192,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in B2Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of B2Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 8,250 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of B2Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in B2Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 61.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B2Gold Trading Down 9.2 %

B2Gold stock opened at $2.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.52, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. B2Gold Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $2.20 and a fifty-two week high of $3.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.83.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cormark lowered shares of B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America downgraded B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Securities cut B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.12.

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.