B2Gold Corp $BTG Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its B2Gold stake by 89.1% in the first quarter, selling 4.58 million shares and retaining 559,908 shares worth approximately $2.54 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 61.4%, with Pale Fire Capital, Vanguard, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Millennium Management among the major holders increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $6.17. However, B2Gold’s latest quarterly EPS and revenue fell short of analyst expectations despite 14% year-over-year revenue growth.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of B2Gold Corp (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG - Free Report) TSE: BTO by 89.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 559,908 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,584,625 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in B2Gold were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BTG. Pale Fire Capital SE grew its stake in B2Gold by 77.4% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 69,740,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $315,923,000 after buying an additional 30,428,530 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in B2Gold by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,023,406 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $252,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,157 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in B2Gold by 4.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 33,477,302 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $151,630,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,923 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in B2Gold by 248.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 23,342,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $105,264,000 after purchasing an additional 16,639,601 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of B2Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $75,333,000. 61.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BTG shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of B2Gold from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank raised B2Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on B2Gold from $5.75 to $5.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on B2Gold from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $6.17.

B2Gold Stock Performance

Shares of BTG opened at $5.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $4.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.66. B2Gold Corp has a one year low of $3.57 and a one year high of $6.28.

B2Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG - Get Free Report) TSE: BTO last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.04). B2Gold had a net margin of 21.47% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $789.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $836.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that B2Gold Corp will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

B2Gold Company Profile

B2Gold Corp. is a Canadian-based intermediate gold producer with a diversified portfolio of operating mines and advanced-stage development projects. Founded in 2007 through the merger of Bema Gold and CGA Mining, the company has grown to become one of the world's largest new gold producers. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, B2Gold focuses on efficient, low-cost operations across several continents, combining exploration, development and production within a single strategic framework.

The company's flagship assets include the Fekola mine in Mali, which commenced production in 2017, the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, and the Masbate mine in the Philippines.

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