B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Shares Down 5.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• B2Gold Corp.'s shares fell by 5.5% during mid-day trading, closing at $5.08 after a significant drop in trading volume.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of opinions: Zacks Research downgraded B2Gold to "hold," while Raymond James upgraded it to "moderate buy" with a price target of $4.50.
• B2Gold declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%, even with a negative payout ratio.

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $5.06 and last traded at $5.08. 15,216,976 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 43,047,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $4.00 price target (up previously from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.25.

B2Gold Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.56, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $4.30 and its 200 day moving average is $3.66.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). B2Gold had a negative net margin of 33.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. On average, analysts predict that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTG. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in B2Gold by 1.4% during the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 65,760,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,397,000 after acquiring an additional 922,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,099,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,501 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 34,306,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,897,000 after purchasing an additional 18,703,995 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,730,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,791,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804,209 shares in the last quarter. 61.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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