B2Gold (TSE:BTO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of B2Gold (TSE:BTO - Free Report) NYSE: BTG from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BTO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cormark downgraded B2Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Securities downgraded shares of B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of B2Gold from C$7.00 to C$6.50 in a report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$5.94.

B2Gold Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE BTO traded down C$0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching C$4.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,780,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,951,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.51, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 1.83. B2Gold has a twelve month low of C$3.16 and a twelve month high of C$4.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is C$4.13 and its 200-day moving average is C$3.99. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.24 billion, a PE ratio of -5.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.23.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold's payout ratio is -25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jerry Korpan sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$4.63, for a total transaction of C$555,600.00. Also, Director Clive Thomas Johnson sold 86,496 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$3.85, for a total transaction of C$333,009.60. In the last three months, insiders sold 535,145 shares of company stock valued at $2,191,177. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

B2Gold Company Profile

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.