B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.21.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BTG shares. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Cormark upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

B2Gold Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of BTG traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $3.52. 43,865,580 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,409,293. B2Gold has a 1 year low of $2.20 and a 1 year high of $3.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3.41 and its 200-day moving average is $2.98. 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 capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.45.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 5.65% and a negative net margin of 33.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that B2Gold will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 89.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,707,775 shares of the company's stock worth $7,717,000 after buying an additional 1,277,357 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of B2Gold by 181.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,158,787 shares of the company's stock worth $23,253,000 after buying an additional 5,262,266 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the first quarter worth about $238,000. Amundi raised its holdings in B2Gold by 33.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,849,897 shares of the company's stock worth $31,682,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in B2Gold during the first quarter worth about $2,342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.