B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.21.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities cut shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America cut shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

B2Gold Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BTG stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $3.09. 44,761,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,904,621. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.97 and a 200-day moving average of $2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08. B2Gold has a one year low of $2.20 and a one year high of $3.51.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in B2Gold by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,010,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,823,000 after buying an additional 1,165,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in B2Gold by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,186,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,335,000 after buying an additional 272,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in B2Gold by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,389,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,510,000 after buying an additional 130,638 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in B2Gold by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,658,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,436,000 after buying an additional 5,401,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in B2Gold by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,675,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,448,000 after buying an additional 2,799,520 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.