B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BTG. CIBC increased their price objective on B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of B2Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $3.75 price target on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on B2Gold from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Cormark lowered B2Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.12.

B2Gold Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE:BTG traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.95. 15,590,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,592,979. B2Gold has a 12 month low of $2.34 and a 12 month high of $3.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of -5.27, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.16.

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 firm had revenue of $448.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.28 million. B2Gold had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 8.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that B2Gold will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. B2Gold’s payout ratio is -28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTG. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in B2Gold by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of B2Gold by 69.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,596,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,837,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754,500 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its position in B2Gold by 26.1% during the third quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the period. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its stake in B2Gold by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 5,631,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,386,000 after purchasing an additional 92,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. boosted its holdings in B2Gold by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 103,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 23,645 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.