Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 180,963 Shares of B2Gold Corp. $BTG

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in B2Gold Corp. by 53.5% in Q1, owning 157,530 shares worth $448,000 after selling 180,963 shares.
• Multiple large investors are adjusting their positions, with Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increasing its stake by 58% in the same quarter.
• B2Gold Corp. faces mixed analyst ratings, holding an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $4.31, while its recent earnings report showed a loss of $0.01 against estimates.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 53.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,530 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,963 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in B2Gold were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BTG. Independent Wealth Network Inc. acquired a new stake in B2Gold during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Walker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of B2Gold in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of B2Gold in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.40% of the company's stock.

B2Gold Price Performance

NYSE:BTG traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,621,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,535,043. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. B2Gold Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $2.20 and a fifty-two week high of $4.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.81 and a 200-day moving average of $3.43.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut B2Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial raised B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $4.00 price objective (up previously from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, B2Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.50.

B2Gold 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.