B2Gold (TSE:BTO) Shares Up 3.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

B2Gold Corp. (TSE:BTO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTG traded up 3.7% on Monday after Cormark upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating. The company traded as high as C$4.83 and last traded at C$4.76. 2,662,797 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 3,931,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$4.59.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BTO. Scotiabank raised shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities downgraded B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America downgraded B2Gold from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on B2Gold from C$6.50 to C$7.50 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of B2Gold from C$7.00 to C$6.50 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, B2Gold presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$5.93.

Insider Activity at B2Gold

In other B2Gold news, Senior Officer William Lytle sold 54,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$3.85, for a total value of C$208,138.70. Also, Director Jerry Korpan sold 120,000 shares of the business'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 value of C$555,600.00. Insiders have sold a total of 535,145 shares of company stock worth $2,191,177 over the last three months. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

B2Gold Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of C$3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -4.92, a PEG ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 3.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$4.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$4.00.

B2Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -25.32%.

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.