Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $3.49 Million Stake in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has reduced its stake in B2Gold Corp. by 15.8%, selling 230,100 shares, while still holding 1,226,400 shares worth approximately $3.49 million.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their positions in B2Gold, with US Bancorp DE increasing its holdings by an impressive 4,920.6%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $4.31 for B2Gold, with most ratings being either "hold" or "buy".

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,226,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 230,100 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.09% of B2Gold worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,010,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,204 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,186,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,335,000 after buying an additional 272,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in B2Gold by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,389,363 shares of the company's stock worth $59,510,000 after acquiring an additional 130,638 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of B2Gold by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,675,400 shares of the company's stock worth $50,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in B2Gold during the 4th quarter worth $40,192,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BTG shares. Wall Street Zen raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of B2Gold in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cormark raised B2Gold from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $4.00 price objective (up previously from $3.60) on shares of B2Gold in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded B2Gold to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $4.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.31.

B2Gold Stock Up 2.1%

B2Gold stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.84. The company had a trading volume of 37,363,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,544,742. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.57 and a 200 day moving average of $3.12. B2Gold Corp. has a 1 year low of $2.20 and a 1 year high of $3.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. B2Gold had a positive return on equity of 5.65% and a negative net margin of 33.12%. B2Gold's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. B2Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.02%.

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.