B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) Shares Up 4.7% - Here's Why

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) shares were up 4.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.48 and last traded at $3.48. Approximately 5,286,253 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 20,684,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BTG. Scotiabank raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. CIBC raised their price objective on B2Gold from $3.30 to $3.60 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4.50 price target on shares of B2Gold in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.21.

B2Gold Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.93. 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 Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B2Gold

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in B2Gold by 23.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 910,558 shares of the company's stock worth $2,804,000 after buying an additional 174,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in B2Gold by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,075,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 661,107 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of B2Gold by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 105,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 22,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of B2Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 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.