B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 19,885,245 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 17,105,226 shares.The stock last traded at $3.01 and had previously closed at $2.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC decreased their price target on B2Gold from $3.70 to $3.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Securities cut shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cormark upgraded B2Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.02.

B2Gold Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of -6.14, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.81. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. B2Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at $670,000. FMR LLC grew its position in B2Gold by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 59,489,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,862,000 after purchasing an additional 438,399 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in B2Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,636,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 46.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,075,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 661,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of B2Gold by 62.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 36,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.40% of the company’s stock.

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.