B2Gold (TSE:BTO) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

B2Gold Corp. (TSE:BTO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTG's stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$3.96 and traded as high as C$4.59. B2Gold shares last traded at C$4.56, with a volume of 2,812,424 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BTO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of B2Gold from C$6.50 to C$7.50 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities downgraded B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cormark raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on B2Gold from C$7.00 to C$6.50 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$6.11.

B2Gold Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$4.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$3.95. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.51.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold's payout ratio is -25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at B2Gold

In related news, Senior Officer Eduard Bartz sold 13,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$3.79, for a total transaction of C$49,880.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$60.64. This represents a 99.88% decrease in their position. Also, Senior Officer William Lytle sold 54,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$3.85, for a total value of C$208,138.70. Insiders have sold a total of 635,161 shares of company stock valued at $2,656,243 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.66% 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.